The Making of Jordan: Tribes, Colonialism and the Modern State

(Paperback)

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At the beginning of the 20th Century Jordan, like much of the Middle East, was a loose collection of tribes. By the time of its independence in 1946 it had the most firmly embedded state structures in the Arab world. Drawing on previously untapped sources, Yoav Alon examines how the disparate clan networks of Jordan were integrated into the Hashemite monarchy, with the help of the British colonial administrators. Taking a grassroot perspective, Alon looks at how the weak state institutions introduced by the Ottomans developed in British-administered Jordan. He shows how these institutions co-opted the structures of tribal society, and produced a distinctive hybrid between modern statehood and tribal confederacy which still characterises Jordan to this day. Key figures emerge in the story of Jordan's transformation, such as John Glubb, the charismatic Arab Legion commander who perceived the power of the nomadic tribes and sought to harness it to imperial Britain's statebuilding agenda. Alon's innovative approach to the origins of modern Jordan provides fresh insights not only into Jordan itself but into colonialism, modernity and the development of the state in the Middle East.

Reviews

"The product of extensive research and impeccable scholarship...the best account we have" - Professor Avi Shlaim, St Antonys College, Oxford; "The scholarship is superb. Alon brings together a wide range of historical sources, in English, Arabic and Hebrew, many of which have never been used before, and offers a sophisticated, in-depth analysis of state formation in the mandate years." - Professor Andrew Shyrock, University of Michigan; "An impressive piece of work..a subtle study that gives due emphasis to the shifting complexities of its subject whilst emaining readable and accessible" - Dr Philip Robbins, St Antony's College Oxford; "A well-written nad nuanced study of tribes and state development. It should be required reading for all those interested in Jordanian politics and in the role of tribes and tribalism in post-independence state formation more broadly." - Professor Laurie Brand, Journal of Islamic Studies

Author Bio

Yoav Alon is a senior lecturer in Middle Eastern history at Tel Aviv University.