ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the relationship between constitutions and citizenship in the Arab world. The first section assesses why and how citizenship became an issue at the time constitutions were written as well as how constitutions have dealt with citizenship and state sovereignty over time. The second section analyzes how people experience constitutions and citizenship in practice by focusing on two detailed cases in Jordan. The first explores Jordan’s treatment of citizens of Palestinian descent after Jordan’s disengagement from the West Bank in 1988. The second examines the state’s treatment of Jordanian women, particularly those married to non-Jordanians. These cases highlight how constitutional texts can be ignored when they are inconvenient, though this often occurs in ways that are difficult to document because they avoid public codification. The final section reviews how debates concerning citizenship became salient across the region during the 2011 Arab uprisings. This section reveals how states largely avoided addressing popular concerns through their constitutions and, at times, even tightened their restrictive practices through constitutional reforms. The chapter finds that Arab constitutions have provided for citizenship in ways that have enabled states to pursue favored policy objectives and enhance their authority without granting clear, enforceable rights to citizens.
