Speaking the Nation: Jordanian National Identity in the Speeches of King Abdullah II

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  • September 29, 2023
Creator
  • McKenzie, Mary
    • Affiliation: College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies
Abstract
  • King Abdullah II ascended the Jordanian throne in 1999 and has ruled the kingdom for the first two decades of the 21st century. During this period, the Arab world has been rocked by internal revolts and revolutions that have brought issues of identity and representation to the fore of regional politics; at the same time, Jordan has largely remained “a quiet house in a troubled neighborhood.” How has the concept of national identity been employed in Jordan to stabilize the political environment? This thesis analyzes the rhetoric of King Abdullah II as he articulates the Jordanian identity in his public speeches, and contends that this act of identity articulation is a political project that has aimed to construct and stabilize the nation and the Hashemite rule over it in the 21st century. The transcripts of these public speeches, available on www.kingabdullah.jo, were the primary source material for this analysis. Secondary information was collected from books, journal and newspaper articles, and published reports. As the elements of the King’s proposed Jordanian identity are explained and contextualized in the modern challenges that the nation has faced, the thesis begins to interrogate the future of this political project as political tensions continue to rise in the kingdom.
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Rights statement
  • In Copyright
Advisor
  • Yaqub, Nadia
Degree
  • Bachelor of Arts
Academic concentration
  • Asian Studies
Honors level
  • Honors
Degree granting institution
  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Graduation year
  • 2019
Language
  • English
Date uploaded
  • April 26, 2019

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