Why Nobody Goes To War With Jordan

Jordan has been surrounded and invaded by conquerors since it was established

and it's persisted through countless conflicts that should have wiped it off the map

Despite this, the country is one of the most stable in the Middle East

leaving us to wonder, how has Jordan flourished while its neighbors fall into war, ruin, and dysfunction

The first part of this answer lies in its physical location. Jordan's geography is a bit of a paradox

It is somehow both its greatest weakness and its saving grace at the same time

With a fertile highland area of about 1,700 meters in the west and a desert plateau averaging around 900 meters in the east

Jordan boasts a diverse terrain, an impressive feat for a country roughly the size of the U.S. state of Indiana

Unfortunately, its diversity doesn't include an ample amount of water. Instead, it's one of the driest countries in the world

receiving an average rainfall of just 245 millimeters annually. In fact, only 20% of the country's land gets more than 200 millimeters of rain a year

And of that 20% of land, only 7% is used as farmland

The country's access to arable land has shrunk even further through the decades

due to the need to develop urban areas. Today, Jordan has dedicated farms, but those aren't enough to supply its people with enough food

much less keep pace with the economy. As a result, it has to import a steady supply of food from its allies, primarily the United States, just to keep its population fed

Additionally, despite being in a region that is famous for its mass extraction and abundance of oil and other fossil fuels, Jordan doesn't really have much

Unlike its neighbors Iraq, Syria, and Saudi Arabia, Jordan has just one natural gas field where it extracts about 1 million cubic meters of gas per day

This is enough to supply just a single power plant in the country. The rest of Jordan's oil and gas has to be imported from other countries

While Jordan's lack of agriculture and oil production has left it disadvantaged compared

to its neighbors, the country isn't completely helpless. Thanks to its rich history, it has become a prime spot for tourists wanting to explore

portions of the Middle East without worrying about being caught in a war. As such, tourism has become the economic lifeblood of the country, drawing millions of people

from all over the world, but particularly the United States, Europe, and China

But while Jordan is stable, its neighbors are not. Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Syria, and Israel surround Jordan

and are constantly at odds with one another or suffering from internal strife

In fact, war has sparked between these four countries more often than almost any other country in the modern era

But Jordan's physical geography insulates it in unique ways. Along its eastern and southern borders, it's flanked by the Syrian and Arabian deserts

two deserts which are very challenging to traverse. Meanwhile, its northern and western borders are lined by the Dead Sea

which sits about 430 meters below sea level and is nine times saltier than any ocean

and the Jordanian highlands, home to Jabal-um-ad-Dami, Jordan's largest peak, and the Jordan River

With so many unstable neighbors, a climate that doesn't make for the greatest farmlands

and an overall lack of resources, it's shocking that Jordan has done as well as it has

And that's without considering all of the wars, takeovers, and conquests it's been through

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Fuel your best performance with Huel today. While Jordan is a beautiful and relatively stable country today, it hasn't been an actual country for all that long

There has, of course, been some form of Jordan weaved throughout history, but it's not been consistent

The country has been ruthlessly controlled and subjugated by countless different invaders throughout history

Unfortunately, we don't have the time to go through an exhaustive history of Jordan

So here's a really quick 60-second version that will bring us up to the year 1900

Sometime around 3,000 years ago, the area we know today as Jordan was home to three related

but independent kingdoms known as Ammon, Moab, and Edom. But these kingdoms would quickly fall to the rising Assyrian Empire

The Assyrian Empire would fall shortly after, leaving the three kingdoms independent once

again, but for only a few decades because then the Babylonians would take over the area

Babylon would get snuffed out, and in their place, the Persians and then the Greeks would

take over. The Greeks would be followed by the Romans, who would completely alter the culture of the region

leaving little remnant of the old kingdoms. The Persian Empire would also rise again during this

time and constantly battle against Rome for the region until both would eventually fall apart

In their stead, a series of Islamic caliphates would rise and gain control of the region

It was during this period that the Jordan we know today would fall into ruin and remain a relative

backwater until crusaders from Europe arrived to the region and constructed a series of castles

and fortifications. But the crusaders were largely European, and of course, they would eventually go

back to Europe, leading an Egyptian sultanate known as the Mamluks to take over. The Mamluks

are perhaps best known for their ability to fend off the Mongolian Empire during a time when most

could not. Finally, after a few hundred years under the Mamluks, Jordan would be conquered by

the Ottoman Empire, where it would remain until the 20th century. And that brings us up to the

modern era. It's during this time that the Jordan of today really starts to emerge, but unfortunately

being part of the Ottoman Empire was not great for Jordanians. You see, the Ottoman Empire was

not interested in governing the region fairly. It wanted the income from taxes, but it didn't

provide any aid or improvement in exchange. Because of this, Jordanians would stage a few

revolts. The Shubak revolt in 1900 and 1905, and the Karak revolt in 1910. While the Ottoman Empire

dealt with these revolts quickly and harshly, it never fully quelled Jordanian anger at

its mismanagement. As such, during World War I, Jordanians would side with the British

and actively fight against the Turks. After the war, Jordan would become part of the British

Empire who would hold on to it for a couple more decades until in 1946 the country of Jordan would officially become independent Jordan was renamed to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and Abdullah bin Hussein the former head

of the current royal family, was officially crowned king. But the newly independent Jordan would fall

into the same destabilizing issues that would plague its Arab neighbors. It would constantly

battle against Israel and, oftentimes, lose those same battles. Because of this, it would take in

an enormous amount of refugees from Palestine, one of whom would assassinate the first king of Jordan

And during this time, the country would largely reject the global economy and geopolitical order

All of this occurred between 1946 and 1999. So this then begs the question

if Jordan had such a tumultuous history, how has it managed to stabilize itself in just a couple

decades. Jordan's current stability really stems from two core reasons. Internally, the country's

monarchy has managed to maintain control through a combination of shrewd maneuvers and adopting more

progressive policies. And externally, it's become dependable as neutral ground, with which many

countries that are often at odds with one another can negotiate peacefully. Both have been integral

to creating the country we know today. But let's start with the internal reasons for its stability

After nearly 80 years of monarchy, Jordan has never really been in danger of a full-scale

revolution, unlike its neighbors in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and Iran. While a military coup was staged

in 1957 by Arab nationalist groups within its military, it was foiled before anything serious

could occur. This can't be overstated enough. Stability in leadership creates the underlying

foundation for a stable country. Jordan has now been led by the same royal family since its founding

Only Saudi Arabia has a longer tenured monarchy. But also, the Jordanian royal family has modernized

the country and made progressive movements to stay well ahead of any potential issues

For example, Queen Rania has been directly involved in the country's social development

programs. Her work has improved children's education, empowered women's rights, and pushed

for better health care. The royal family's push to keep Jordanians happy and healthy has led to

some remarkable outcomes, including the fact that 99% of Jordanians have access to clean water

despite the country's lack of rainfall. But it might be King Abdullah II who has prioritized

his people's safety over all else. Since becoming king in 1999, he has made a point of allying Jordan

with countries like the United Kingdom, France, the United States, and even Saudi Arabia to

maintain that safety. Jordan's allies not only provide a deterrent from war, but also provide

support in areas where the country can't fend for itself. And it's these exact allies that really

keep the country stable today. And they managed to make all of these allies in two incredible ways

First, Jordan has accepted far more international refugees than most countries ever would. And given

the large number and diversity of refugees living in Jordan, you would think that this would lead to

conflict. But the reality is refugees live freely without suffering governmental violence or

systemic prejudice. In fact, Jordan has become so good at hosting refugees that it now hosts what

is believed to be 3 million Palestinians, 1.4 million Syrians, and thousands more Circassians

Chechens Armenians and Christians Because of this Jordan managed to win over the hearts of its fellow Arab neighbors countries who now value the peace that Jordan is able to offer the region Making peace and gaining respect from its nearest neighbors was crucial for Jordan

because it would then do something that, for most other countries, would lead to regional isolation, if not outright conflict

Jordan made peace with Israel, which opened the door for peaceful relations with the West

For most countries, recognizing the state of Israel is a surefire way to incur the wrath of most of the Middle East, but not Jordan

So how did they manage to avoid a major conflict when previously the mere idea of making peace with Israel got their former king assassinated

Well, it's the neutrality of it all. Most Middle Eastern countries despise Israel due to an extensive history of damaging and embarrassing wars

While the governments of these countries would have no issue declaring Jordan an enemy

they also recognize its value as a neutral state. For most, there is nowhere else for their refugees to go

And if they were to declare war on Jordan, they would also be declaring war on refugees who are their allies

And because of this, Jordan has remained peaceful for over 50 years

And this lack of war has led to an increase in tourism and an improved economy

Jordanians themselves seem to have no issue with their alliance with Israel because it ensures economic support from foreign countries

which in turn improves their way of life. Jordan, of course, wasn't immune from the Arab Spring revolts of 2011 and 2012

but again, the royal family reacted quickly. And instead of violently crushing the revolts

the king responded by reforming about a third of the country's constitution

establishing an independent election commission, and vowing to embark on a democratic trajectory

Now, all this said, all of this stability has been put in jeopardy recently by the actions of Iran

In March 2024, Jordanian security forces foiled a suspected Iranian-backed plot to smuggle mines

explosives, rifles, and rockets into Jordan from Syria. These weapons were likely destined for use

by anti-monarchy militias in Jordan itself. Over the past year, many other attempts to smuggle

weapons across the Syria-Jordan border have been stopped, but others have made it through

and that could prove to be a problem for Jordan in the future. In response, King Abdullah II

seems to have moved closer to the United States, including shooting down drones and rockets fired

by Iran at Israel. This position is increasingly at odds with many of his subjects, including the

millions of Palestinian refugees who continue to live in the country today. If tensions in Jordan

rise, many people inside and outside the country may try to take advantage of any instability that

comes. At that point, the one thing that has kept this country stable for so long, its neutrality

may well come into danger. Jordan's stability is owed to help from its international allies

and its willingness to provide refuge even when dealing with its own struggles. While many of its

neighbors will wish to see it continue as a valuable neutral territory, others, notably Iran

would be more than happy to undermine that stability. Hey, if you enjoyed this video, you probably like maps

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