The role of civil society in democratic transition : the case of Jordan

Abstract

Transitions in Arab States have triggered a debate among scholars as to whether the outcome of the 2011 uprisings is yielding the hopes and aspirations of people who took off to the streets demanding freedom and justice. In post-uprising states, like Egypt, Tunisia and Libya, transition essentially means state building – a complete overhaul of all state institutions and decision-making processes. In Jordan and Morocco, both quasi-democratic monarchies, the response to popular demands has been led by the Monarchs through gradual top-down reforms. In both scenarios alike, I argue that the role of an independent and robust civil society is integral in the process of consolidating a democracy. While it is evident that civil society is fundamental in state building, I emphasize that even in top-down democratic transition civil society is the backbone of a successful consolidated democracy. In specific, I take the case of Jordan to demonstrate that King Abdullah’s reform vision, expressed in his recently published discussion papers, can only materialize if a broad ownership of the proposed political and economic reforms is established with an active civil society.