EPISODE · Nov 21, 2025 · 1H 11M
Inside Jordan's Untold Stories: the Royals, the Americans & the Protests (Video on Spotify) | S2E12
from Scholars Unravel Middle East · host Adel Aali, History Behind News Program
Is Jordan a stable country? Where do Jordanians practice politics? In protests? Or in the polls and parliament? In this interview, I discuss the following with my guest: ▶️Were the Hashemite royal family foreigners in Jordan? ▶️Did Jordan’s Hashemites belong to a larger, transnational royal family? ▶️How does the Hashemite royal family’s history impact Jordan’s national identity and nation-building efforts now?▶️Why Jordanian protesters and cartoonists poke fun of King Abdullah II’s Arabic?▶️How were tribal protests in Jordan during Ottoman and British rules different than now? ▶️If Jordan is not a democractic country, then how are protests routine in Jordan? ▶️Do Jordanians experience politics in streets as opposed to in parliament and during elections? ▶️Dose criticizing the King of Jordan cross a red line? ▶️What does it mean that Jordan's protesting places are disappearing? ▶️Why do Jordanians protest about water? ▶️Does Jordan coordinate its budget with the U.S.? ▶️How do protests in Jordan compare to other countries, such as protests in Iran or the U.S.? ▶️Why does the government of Jordan promote images of stability and instability? ▶️Why are cartoonists getting arrests in Jordan for alleged terrorism? ▶️Is Jordan essentially a U.S. protectorate?▶️Is Jordan forever on the brink of a revolution? 🚩About My Guest: Dr. Jillian Schwedler is a professor of political science at the City University of New York’s Hunter College and the Graduate Center, and also a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Crown Center at Brandeis University. Adel Aali Host Support My Program: I rely on your support to continue this program. So thank you in advance. ******🎶Music attributions: 1. Opening and closing music of the program: Santur: Peyman Heydarian playing on the Santur some Iranian music. Recorded with a Sony PCM-D50 at the School of Oriental and African Studies of London on April 7th 2011. Music available on at https://freesound.org/people/xserra/sounds/125654/Creative Commons / Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0 DEED) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This music has been cut in shorter pieces and its volume has been adjusted in different portions of our program. 2. Background music to guest introduction: The Desert | The Grand Scorehttps://www.free-stock-music.com/alexander-nakarada-the-desert.htmlThe Desert | The Grand Score by Alexander Nakarada (CreatorChords) | https://creatorchords.com Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com Creative Commons / Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/The volume and lengths of this piece have been modified. 3. Background music to promoting History Behind News episodes: The Success by Keys of Moon | https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon. Musicpromoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0): https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. The volume and lengths of this piece have been modified.
What this episode covers
Is Jordan a stable country? Where do Jordanians practice politics? In protests? Or in the polls and parliament? In this interview, I discuss the following with my guest: ▶️Were the Hashemite royal family foreigners in Jordan? ▶️Did Jordan’s Hashemites belong to a larger, transnational royal family? ▶️How does the Hashemite royal family’s history impact Jordan’s national identity and nation-building efforts now?▶️Why Jordanian protesters and cartoonists poke fun of King Abdullah II’s Arabic?▶️How were tribal protests in Jordan during Ottoman and British rules different than now? ▶️If Jordan is not a democractic country, then how are protests routine in Jordan? ▶️Do Jordanians experience politics in streets as opposed to in parliament and during elections? ▶️Dose criticizing the King of Jordan cross a red line? ▶️What does it mean that Jordan's protesting places are disappearing? ▶️Why do Jordanians protest about water? ▶️Does Jordan coordinate its budget with the U.S.? ▶️How do protests in Jordan compare to other countries, such as protests in Iran or the U.S.? ▶️Why does the government of Jordan promote images of stability and instability? ▶️Why are cartoonists getting arrests in Jordan for alleged terrorism? ▶️Is Jordan essentially a U.S. protectorate?▶️Is Jordan forever on the brink of a revolution? 🚩About My Guest: Dr. Jillian Schwedler is a professor of political science at the City University of New York’s Hunter College and the Graduate Center, and also a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Crown Center at Brandeis University. Adel Aali Host Support My Program: I rely on your support to continue this program. So thank you in advance. ******🎶Music attributions: 1. Opening and closing music of the program: Santur: Peyman Heydarian playing on the Santur some Iranian music. Recorded with a Sony PCM-D50 at the School of Oriental and African Studies of London on April 7th 2011. Music available on at https://freesound.org/people/xserra/sounds/125654/Creative Commons / Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0 DEED) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This music has been cut in shorter pieces and its volume has been adjusted in different portions of our program. 2. Background music to guest introduction: The Desert | The Grand Scorehttps://www.free-stock-music.com/alexander-nakarada-the-desert.htmlThe Desert | The Grand Score by Alexander Nakarada (CreatorChords) | https://creatorchords.com Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com Creative Commons / Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/The volume and lengths of this piece have been modified. 3. Background music to promoting History Behind News episodes: The Success by Keys of Moon | https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon. Musicpromoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0): https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. The volume and lengths of this piece have been modified.
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Inside Jordan's Untold Stories: the Royals, the Americans & the Protests (Video on Spotify) | S2E12
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