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The Political Legacy of King Hussein

Alexander Bligh
Author text to follow

“This book, written by a former adviser on Arab affairs to the prime minister of Israel, is a detailed and highly laudatory account of the policies pursued by King Hussein of Jordan from 1963 until his death in 1999. Bligh argues that, contrary to conventional wisdom, Hussein ‘was one of the main figures shaping the fate of the Middle East since the 1960s’… Recommended.” Choice

“The Political Legacy of King Hussein is probably the first serious book published after the untimely demise of the Jordanian monarch that sums up his political activity and heritage. In this richly documented and well written study, Dr. Bligh describes and analyses King Hussein’s survival strategy in the last four decades of the 20th century, i.e., the late king’s efforts to ensure the survival of both the Hashemite dynasty and Jordan itself.” Middle East Journal

“Conventional wisdom holds that Hussein looked for political guidance to the legacy of his grandfather, the founder of modern Jordan, Emir (and later King) Abdullah. So often did Hussein cite the memory of his grandfather, Abdullah’s tireless efforts to achieve a noble peace, and the pain of standing beside Abdullah when the latter was murdered in Jerusalem in 1951, that it is natural to infer that Hussein’s world-view was a continuation of Abdullah’s. As Dr. Bligh correctly points out, that is not the case. Indeed, Hussein’s historic success and Jordan’s progress in recent decades is precisely due to the fact that Hussein understood the lessons for Jordan and the Hashemite family of Abdullah’s lifelong quest at territorial and political aggrandizement.” From the Foreword by Robert B. Satloff, Executive Director, The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Washington, DC

This book uncovers the true force behind most of the political processes in the Middle East over almost half a century. Through constant confrontations and negotiations with Israel and the Palestinians, under the watchful eye of the United States, the King managed to create a new Middle Eastern nation-state: the Jordanian country and its people. The focus of the book is Hussein’s deep concern for the future of the last Hashemite monarchy, together with his own set of personal and ideological convictions, as they impacted on many of his strategic decisions and their contribution to the formation of present-day Jordan.

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