* The current ‘societal violence’ tests the authority of the state while exposing the controversial issues of citizenship and the future of civil society in the country
By Osama Al Sharif | Special to Gulf News
Jordan is facing an existential crisis that is threatening to damage its social fabric and fracture its foundations as a state. It is not the fear of a spillover of the Syrian conflict or deteriorating economic conditions, although these dangers are genuine. It is in fact the phenomenon of what pundits are calling the spread of “societal violence” across the country, especially in Jordanian universities.
End of last month saw the breakout of rampant violence in a government university in the southern city of Ma’an, where four people were killed and two dozens injured. Anti-riot police were summoned to control students at Al Hussain Ibn Talal University after fighting broke out between members of different tribes. Machine guns were used inside the campus and when the fracas was eventually contained, a faculty member, a visiting schoolboy and two students had lost their lives.
Members of the Al Huweitat tribe, who reside in the southern Badia, protested by cutting off the main desert highway, while residents of Ma’an used firearms to attack gendarmerie forces that cordoned off the campus. Tribal tensions in the south reached critical levels. Police detained more than 20 suspects. Two days later, protests broke out in the northern city of Irbid, the birthplace of one of the victims, and police had to intervene. A state of lawlessness spread in the south for days before the minister of interior finally visited the region and promised to take action.
The Ma’an incident came a month after another brawl broke out in Mu’ta University in Kerak, south of Jordan. Again tribal tensions were to blame. One student was killed after riots and acts of violence and vandalism erupted over student election results.
This dangerous phenomenon has been gaining momentum over the past four years amid warnings by politicians and experts that it is running out of control. The number of fights in the kingdom’s universities had increased to 80 in 2012 from 61 in 2011 and 31 in 2010. Off-campus scuffles run in the hundreds.
In a country known for its strong tribal background and lineage, the phenomenon has shaken the conservative Jordanian society. However, it is also limited to East Bank Jordanians, long seen as a cohesive entity with strong loyalty to the Hashemites who have ruled the kingdom since its inception.
The phenomenon has underlined the slow degeneration of government authority with a clear disregard for the rule of law. After the Ma’an university incident and as the government stood by, heads of local tribes met to discuss the crisis. Some of them criticised the government for its indifference and for failing to act swiftly to bring the culprits to justice. They agreed among themselves to end riots and all acts of violence and gave the government a deadline to apprehend those responsible.
It was not the first time the government was late to act. On previous occasions the state stood by as local notables worked out compromises along tribal traditions and laws, known locally as Attwas, a sort of settlement agreed to by parties and generally respected by all. To this day, tribal law has precedence over civil law in cases of involuntary manslaughter, where tribal victims or culprits are involved.
But pundits warn of continued deterioration in what they describe as “state prestige” or authority across the country. Some blame dire economic conditions, especially in the underprivileged south. Recently, when Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour went to the southern city of Kerak, he was greeted with protests and burning tyres. In fact many experts have challenged cabinet ministers to visit the southern governorates where problems of unemployment and poverty are endemic.
Others blame the single-vote law, used in parliamentary elections for the last 20 years, for breeding sub-identities and for strengthening tribal affinities at the expense of a unifying national identity. Certainly, the single-vote law has underlined the role of tribes in local politics and this can be seen in the composition of the current Lower House of parliament.
Receding government authority is evident in many aspects of Jordanian life. For decades, the government played the role of guardian or sponsor of tribal leaders, showering them with financial rewards to ensure they maintained their loyalty to the crown. However, harsh economic conditions have altered this relationship. The patronage system is still intact in some areas, but it has been degraded in others. The tribes themselves have undergone major sociological changes. A younger generation is now challenging the symbolic authority of the elders within the tribe. This is apparent in local elections, where a number of candidates from the same tribe now compete for a single seat.
Some analysts have gone as far as to warn that the “societal violence” phenomenon is becoming the biggest threat to the rule of King Abdullah II.
The King has evaded the repercussions of the Arab Spring by adopting political reforms. But observers believe such reforms are not enough and that political and economic uncertainties have fed the phenomenon of sub-identities, where allegiance to the tribe prevails over loyalty to the state.
It is an existential mess that tests the authority of the state while exposing the controversial issues of citizenship and the future of civil society in Jordan. So far, the government has not come up with its own diagnosis of this problem. Experts believe it requires a major transformation of the role of the state and a redefinition of its relationship with citizens.
Osama Al Sharif is a journalist and political commentator based in Amman.
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