INTERNATIONAL POLICY ANALYSIS The Limits of Political Reform in Jordan The Role of External Actors HASSAN A. BARARI December 2013 n Over the last decade, the entrenched ruling elite and the security apparatus in Jor­dan have placed substantial political reform on the back burner. The onset of the Arab Spring gave impetus to emerging social groups – mainly youth – who increased pressure on the regime to commit to genuine reform. n The modest package of reform that the Jordanian monarch presented on the heels of a series of demonstrations rang hollow among a sizeable segment of the popu­lation, particularly with the politically disillusioned activists in Jordan. The regime skillfully designed the reform package to reproduce a political status quo that a considerable percentage of Jordanians reject. The top-down reform package came as yet another gambit to silence the internal opposition and appease the West. n The scope of political reform in Jordan has been shaped by the combination of three factors: external actors(the United States and Saudi Arabia), domestic pressure for reform, and, lastly, the regime’s reaction to, and in some cases manipulation of, the aforementioned two. n The regime managed to exploit regional instability, the Saudi strategy to prop up like-minded regimes, as well as the American fear of short-term instability for its own benefit. Thus, it succeeded in selling a reform package, which only reinforced the regime’s autocratic grip.