ABSTRACT
This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on the concepts discussed in this book. Wasfi al-Tall was an exemplary representative of 'the Jordanian entity' and the Trans-Jordanian political elite. The life of Wasfi al-Tall is, in many respects, the story of the evolution of the Trans-Jordanian political elite – the East Bank politicians, soldiers and bureaucrats who, with the King, form the backbone of Hashimite Jordan. The Trans-Jordanian political elite, therefore, faces a novel challenge to its basically secular, pragmatic and non-ideological worldview. During the Second World War a new generation of educated and politically active young men had matured in the towns of the East Bank. Wasfi al-Tall's 'philosophy of government' did not depart from the norm in the Arab Middle East. Tall was convinced that Jordan's survival depended on a pro-Western orientation in foreign policy; in domestic politics he did not hesitate to use the army when necessary to put down challengers of the existing political order.
