Protests in Jordan Are Not Mundane

Counter/Argument: A Middle East Podcast

The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan may look like an island of stability in the Middle East. Yet, hundreds of protests take place in the streets of Jordan’s towns and cities every year. What are people protesting? Why does the regime tolerate it? And what is at stake? Join guest host Daniel Neep as he speaks with Dr. Jillian Schwedler about the significance of seemingly mundane popular protests on state and society in Jordan and other misconceptions about Jordan.
Jillian Schwedler, professor of political science at the City University of New York’s Hunter College and the Graduate Center and the author of Protesting Jordan: Geographies of Power and Dissent (Stanford University, 2022). She is also a non-resident fellow at the Crown Center for Middle East Studies at Brandeis University.
Daniel Neep, Mellon Research Fellow at Georgetown University's Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service and a non-resident fellow at the Crown Center. He was previously the assistant director for research and a sabbatical fellow at the Crown Center.
More Resources

• Jillian Schwedler, in conversation with Daniel Neep, "Why Failed Protests Are Politically Significant," February 1, 2023, Crown Seminar recording
• Review of Protesting Jordan: Geographies of Power and Dissent, March 1, 2023, MERIP
• Hayal Akarsu, Yazan Doughan, and Youssef El Chazli, "Policing and Protests: Insights from the Middle East," July 2, 2020, Crown Conversations 3

Editorial team: Naghmeh Sohrabi, Karen Spira, Ramyar D. Rossoukh
Producer: Karen Spira
Audio engineer: Levon Henry
Podcast art: Chae Lee
Theme music: "Sleeky" by ComaStudio, Pixabay
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The opinions and findings expressed in this podcast belong to the speakers exclusively and do not reflect those of the Crown Center or Brandeis University....