Oraib Rantawi: JORDAN – GEOPOLITICAL AND STRATEGIC ROLE IN A CHANGING MIDDLE EAST Challenges and Opportunities

Historically, Jordan has played a wider regional role as part of
the  security order in the Gulf States and as a main player
in the  Arab-Israeli conflict building on its strong ties
with the West.  However, there are new dynamics in the
region. With the rise of the Gulf  States there is no longer
the need for Jordanian support. Meanwhile,  Israel is not
paying the same attention to the role of Jordan as it did
 previously because of the systematic shift in Israel
towards the right.  Consequently, changing priorities in the
Gulf and Israel have led to  changes in and challenges to
Jordan’s geopolitical and strategic role,  especially as
developments, such as the Abraham Accords, have shifted  the
focus to other regional players. This reflects a wider regional
 dynamic in which we are witnessing a movement away from a
 confrontational approach between separate camps to one of
fluidity  between conflicting axes.


The discussion with Oraib Rantawi will seek to cover how Jordan
can  maintain its role in a changing regional environment,
considering the  role of Jordanian domestic challenges and
questions of the priorities on  the Jordanian foreign and
defence policy agenda.


Oraib Rantawi is the founder and director
general of  the Amman-based Al Quds Center for Political
Studies and an established  writer and columnist. He has
authored and edited several strategic  studies and organized
and participated in seminars and conferences in  Jordan and
internationally. He is also a frequent commentator and
 analyst on television and has produced his own show “Qadaya
wa Ahdath”  (Issues and Events).


Gudrun Harrer, Senior Editor at Der Standard,
 Lecturer on Modern History and Politics of the Middle East,
University  of Vienna and Diplomatic Academy of Vienna