Ling Hussein ultimately came to feel that they constituted a major threat to his authority and, in September 1970, he deployed the Jordanian army to expel them. In 1973, Israel again defeated a combined Arab force, including a small Jordanian contingent, in the Yom Kippur war: Jordan lost no territory on this occasion. Throughout the late 1970s and early 1980s Jordan pulled back from regional politics to concentrate more on domestic matters. After 1967, political power in Jordan was concentrated fully in the hands of the King and his Council of Ministers.

This prohibition has been substantially relaxed since the mid-1980s to the point where political parties can now campaign openly for election.

The Palestinian problem re-emerged as a major factor in Jordanian politics with the onset of the first Intifada (the uprising by Palestinians living in Israeli-occupied areas) in 1987. This led, in July the following year, to a surprise decision by King Hussein to cede the residual Jordanian interest in the internal affairs of the occupied West Bank (notably the financing of public services such as education).

Then in 1990, another of Jordan’s other neighbours, Iraq, became the cause of major problems for the Jordanians when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait. The ensuing Gulf War of 1991 proved a political and economic disaster for Jordan. Traditionally friendly to both the US and Iraq and, in different ways, economically reliant on both, Jordan was forced into an unwelcome choice. Inevitably, Jordan lost out with both sides through its failure to give wholehearted support for the US-led coalition which defeated the Iraqis, and by accepting large numbers of Iraqi refugees. During the rest of the 1990s, Jordan suffered badly from the UN sanctions imposed upon Baghdad and it has benefited significantly from the gradual disintegration of the sanctions regime.

The Iraqi situation also had the effect of pushing King Hussein into a peace agreement with the Israelis, allowing for security and economic cooperation, which was concluded in 1991. Since 2000, and the second Palestinian Intifada, this agreement has come under serious strain.

By this time, moreover, there had been an important change in Jordan. King Hussein’s health had been in decline throughout the 1990s and he died of cancer in February 1999. The King’s brother, Crown Prince Hassan, had long been the heir apparent. But the King had stipulated before his death that one of his sons, Prince Abdullah, had been chosen to take over upon his death (Hassan remains an important figure). During his first year in office, Abdullah adopted a more populist style than his father but there has been little change in the substance of policy. A new Prime Minister, Ali Abu al-Ragheb, took office during 2000 at the head of a government composed of independents and members of the main Islamic bloc.

During 2002, Abdullah was confronted by the same dilemma as his father as, once again, the Americans have Iraq in their sights. There is strong anti-American feeling in the country due to the Bush administration’s support for Israel and its proposed assault on fellow Arabs. The government is also deeply concerned about the economic consequences of a second Gulf War. The regional situation lay behind Jordan’s decision to cancel the planned Non-Aligned Summit, scheduled in Amman in April 2002. Jordan’s planned takeover of the presidency of the movement from South Africa is now in jeopardy.