Increasing constraints? Civil society organisations in Jordan vis-à-vis the state

Abstract: The Jordanian state apparatus is increasingly limiting civil society in Jordan from engaging in open debate, and organisations are gradually inhibited from executing their activities and events. These are the premises on which this research is based, and in exploring them several questions arise. How can civil society in Jordan be characterised and applied? What do these obstacles look like in practice? And why are civil society organisations (CSOs) repressed by the Jordanian state machinery? Interviews conducted with different active CSOs inside Jordan reveal the extent of the obstacles they are facing, and the internal state mechanisms behind it. This analysis is placed against a wider backdrop of literature on civil society in the Middle East and regional political developments that have recently had a huge impact on Jordan’s societal structures and dynamics.