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Politics and International Relations Research Seminar

Centre-local relations in Jordan in the era of reform by Dr Shun Watanabe

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This paper seeks to examine the effect of recent introduction of decentralization policies on local governance in Jordan. Based on document analysis and interviews held in the summer 2019, this paper examines the process of policy-making and its implementation at the level of governorate during the period of 2017-2019, with the aim of analyzing the effectiveness of decentralization policies in representing local demands in local policies in practice.

  • From: Wednesday 18 March 2020, 4 pm
  • To: Wednesday 18 March 2020, 5.30 pm
  • Location: CH2702, Chaucer Building, Nottingham Trent University, Goldsmith Street, NG1 5LS
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This paper seeks to examine the effect of recent introduction of decentralization policies on local governance in Jordan. Based on document analysis and interviews held in the summer 2019, this paper examines the process of policy-making and its implementation at the level of governorate during the period of 2017-2019, with the aim of analyzing the effectiveness of decentralization policies in representing local demands in local policies in practice.

It illustrates the ineffectiveness of intermediaries in local policy provisions with a focus on a newly introduced elected consultative institution, governorate council, as well as political parties: the governorate council fails to exert substantial effects on local policies, and political parties do not play effective roles in local politics.

It then argues that, not only institutional constraints posed by the lawmakers, but distrust both from the central government and the citizens hampers the intermediary roles of the governorate council and political parties to represent local demands in local policy provisions. Such distrust urges people to seek informal channels for requesting their demands, which would eventually contribute to the few holding political power at the centre.

Dr Shun Watanabe is a Research Fellow at the University of Oxford.

Location details

Address:

Chaucer Building
Nottingham Trent University
Goldsmith Street
 NG1 5LS

Past event

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