Bordering the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the turmoil
in Syria, and with internal pressure for greater reforms, how will Jordan's
monarchy respond? It has a population of less than seven million people, no
oil, and it relies on aid from its rich neighbours and its friends in the
West. But a combination of geography and history has blessed or, depending
on your perspective, cursed the Hashemite kingdom of Jordan, with a critical
role in the politics of the Middle East, the Israel-Palestine conflict and,
of course, the Arab Spring. The Café this week is in Amman to discover what
the future holds for a country plagued by corruption and economic stagnation
and with a population divided between ethnic Jordanians and marginalised
Palestinians. But it is not just the Palestinians who are disgruntled. The
opposition to the regime ranges from the Muslim Brotherhood, to the middle
classes to the former army generals and Bedouin tribal leaders that the
ruling royal family has traditionally relied on for support. Criticism of
King Abdullah and his wife, the glamorous queen Rania, is now commonplace
here in the capital city. But the question is: Do Jordanians want reform or
a revolution?
