Abstract
In this chapter, Bush provides an overview of women’s political representation in Jordan. Situating the overview within a general discussion of authoritarian politics, Bush discusses women’s right to run for political office and patterns in women’s representation over time. The chapter pays special attention to debates about gender quotas in Jordan. An exploration of what kinds of women get elected to political office and the contours of public opinion towards women’s representation sheds light on questions about the impact of women’s political presence. Bush concludes by suggesting directions for future research on women and politics in Jordan.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
Works Cited
Abou-Zeid, Gihan. 2006. The Arab Region: Women’s Access to the Decision-Making Process Across the Arab Nation. In Women, Quotas and Politics, ed. Drude Dahlerup, 168–193. New York: Routledge.
Abu Rumman, Hussein. 2007. The Women’s Quota in Jordan: Crowning Three Decades of Support for Female Political Participation. In The Arab Quota Report: Selected Case Studies. Stockholm: International IDEA, pp. 42–50.
Benstead, Lindsay J. 2016. Why Quotas Are Needed to Improve Women’s Access to Services in Clientelistic Regimes. Governance 29 (2): 185–205.
Benstead, Lindsay J., Amaney A. Jamal, and Ellen Lust. 2015. Is It Gender, Religiosity or Both? A Role Congruity Theory of Candidate Electability in Transitional Tunisia. Perspectives on Politics 13 (1): 74–94.
Bush, Sarah Sunn. 2011. International Politics and the Spread of Quotas for Women in Legislatures. International Organization 65 (1): 103–137.
Bush, Sarah Sunn. 2015. The Taming of Democracy Assistance: Why Democracy Promotion Does Not Confront Dictators. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Bush, Sarah Sunn, and Eleanor X. Gao. 2017. Small Tribes, Big Gains: The Strategic Uses of Gender Quotas in the Middle East. Comparative Politics 49 (2): 149–167.
Bush, Sarah Sunn, and Amaney Jamal. 2015. Anti-Americanism, Authoritarian Regimes, and Attitudes About Women in Politics. International Studies Quarterly 59 (1): 34–45.
Carapico, Sheila. 2013. Political Aid and Arab Activism: Democracy Promotion, Justice, and Representation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Clark, Janine A. 2006. The Conditions of Islamist Moderation: Unpacking Cross-Ideological Cooperation in Jordan. International Journal of Middle East Studies 38 (4): 539–560.
Clark, Janine Astrid, and Jillian Schwedler. 2003. Who Opened the Window? Women’s Activism in Islamist Parties. Comparative Politics 35 (3): 293–312.
Clayton, Amanda. 2014. Electoral Gender Quotas and Attitudes Toward Traditional Leaders: A Policy Experiment in Lesotho. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management 33 (4): 1007–1026.
Cox, Gary W. 1996. Is the Single Nontransferable Vote Superproportional? Evidence from Japan and Taiwan. American Journal of Political Science 40 (3): 741–742.
Dahlerup, Drude, and Lenita Freidenvall. 2005. Quotas as a ‘Fast Track’ to Equal Representation for Women. International Feminist Journal of Politics 7 (1): 26–48.
David, Assaf, and Stefanie Nanes. 2011. The Women’s Quota in Jordan’s Municipal Councils: International and Domestic Dimensions. Journal of Women, Politics & Policy 32 (4): 275–304.
Franceschet, Susan, Mona Lena Krook, and Jennifer M. Piscopo. 2012. Conceptualizing the Impact of Gender Quotas. In The Impact of Gender Quotas: Women’s Descriptive, Substantive, and Symbolic Representation, ed. Susan Franceschet, Mona Lena Krook, and Jennifer M. Piscopo, 3–26. New York: Oxford University Press.
Freedom House. 2011. Jordan in Freedom in the World 2011. Washington, DC: Freedom House. Available at https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2011/jordan.
Freedom House 2014. Jordan in Freedom in the World 2014. Washington, DC: Freedom House. Available at https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2014/jordan.
Gao, Eleanor X. 2016. Tribal Mobilization, Fragmented Groups, and Public Goods Provision in Jordan. Comparative Political Studies 49 (10): 1372–1403.
Hudson, Valerie M., Donna Lee Bowen, and Perpetua Lynne Nielsen. 2015. Clan Governance and State Stability: The Relationship Between Female Subordination and Political Order. American Political Science Review 109 (3): 535–555.
Inglehart, Ronald, and Pippa Norris. 2003. Rising Tide: Gender Equality and Cultural Change. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Krook, Mona Lena. 2009. Quotas for Women in Politics: Gender and Candidate Selection Reform Worldwide. New York: Oxford University Press.
Krook, Mona Lena, Diana Z. O’Brien, and Krista M. Swip. 2010. Military Invasion and Women’s Political Representation. International Feminist Journal of Politics 12 (1): 66–79.
Lust-Okar, Ellen. 2009. Reinforcing Informal Institutions Through Authoritarian Elections: Insights from Jordan. Middle East Law and Governance 1 (1): 3–37.
Lust-Okar, Ellen, and Amaney A. Jamal. 2002. Rulers and Rules: Reassessing the Influence of Regime Type on Electoral Law Formation. Comparative Political Studies 35 (3): 337–366.
Nanes, Stefanie. 2015. “The Quota Encouraged Me to Run:” Evaluating Jordan’s Municipal Quota for Women. Journal of Middle East Women’s Studies 11 (3): 261–282.
Ottaway, Marina. 2005. The Limits of Women’s Rights. In Uncharted Journey: Promoting Democracy in the Middle East, ed. Thomas Carothers and Marina Ottaway, 115–129. Washington, DC: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Robinson, Glenn E. 1998. Defensive Democratization in Jordan. International Journal of Middle East Studies 30 (3): 387–410.
Ross, Michael L. 2008. Oil, Islam, and Women. American Political Science Review 102 (1): 107–123.
Sabbagh, Amal. 2005. The Arab States: Enhancing Women’s Political Participation. In Women in Parliament: Beyond Numbers, rev. ed., ed. Julie Ballington and Azza Karam. Stockholm: International IDEA, pp. 52–71.
Sater, James N. 2007. Changing Politics from Below? Women Parliamentarians in Morocco. Democratization 14 (4): 732–742.
Tabbaa, Yasmeen. 2008. New Spaces, New Politics? Women, Tribes, and Quotas in Jordan. Working Paper, Center for Strategic Studies, University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan.
Warrick, Catherine. 2009. Law in the Service of Legitimacy: Gender and Politics in Jordan. Burlington, VT: Ashgate.
Yom, Sean L. 2015. From Resilience to Revolution: How Foreign Interventions Destabilize the Middle East. New York: Columbia University Press.
Yom, Sean L., and F. Gregory Gause, III. 2012. Resilient Royals: How Arab Monarchies Hang On. Journal of Democracy 23 (4): 74–88.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2019 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Bush, S.S. (2019). Jordan: Quotas and Change in Women’s Political Representation. In: Franceschet, S., Krook, M.L., Tan, N. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Women’s Political Rights. Gender and Politics. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-59074-9_34
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-59074-9_34
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-137-59073-2
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-59074-9
eBook Packages: Political Science and International StudiesPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)