‘Correcting’ the ‘Party Course’ in Jordan

Many political parties, especially what have been called the new programmatic parties, are going through a transitional phase and internal movement, some of which resemble internal storms, especially after the parliamentary elections, since the results of most of these parties did not meet expectations, at least those promoted by their leaders at the time or even by many decision-making circles.

Most of these parties have undergone leadership changes, but today they are in a state of imbalance, while consultations are taking place between many of them to unite and merge, as indicated by leaks related to the Erada and Taqaddom parties. Meanwhile, other parties are facing significant structural problems and internal conflicts that could undermine their unity, whether they have reached the parliament or not. In any case, the upcoming phase will witness significant transformations in the political scene.

However, what is truly noticeable and concerning is the general sense of anger and frustration among most of the youth in these parties. A few days ago, the Writer had the opportunity to engage in an in-depth discussion with about 20 young people from the northern governorates (as part of a new horizon project conducted by the Policy and Society Institute in collaboration with the United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDF), including about 90 youth from various governorates of the Kingdom). These individuals are considered leaders and active youth, many of whom got involved in political and party work, but the majority of them abandoned party work after the elections, they believe that this stance is widespread among many of their peers.

What are the reasons for this youth exodus? They respond by saying that there is a widespread feeling among a large percentage of youth within the political parties that they lack real leadership roles within the parties. Furthermore, many of these youth did not find a suitable and supportive environment within the political parties, and the reason for this is that most of these parties adopted wrong methods in recruiting youth, methods that do not focus on convincing them with the party’s ideology, identity, or internal roles. Additionally, there is a lack of party experience in dealing with the youth generation, and political parties lack "internal academies" that promote and develop the skills and capacities of young people and educate them in party work.

Despite the fact that involving youth in political and party work is one of the pillars of the political modernization project and its primary objective, and despite the significant attention given to this issue by decision-making circles in Amman, including the organization of many workshops and training sessions for youth, and even though the previous period saw thousands of new youths entering party work, the current phase is moving in the opposite direction. It is necessary to address this issue and work on several fronts to sustain the momentum of the party process and fix the imbalances that occurred during the previous phase, with a focus on the youth and women's wings or organizations related to party work.

Once again, the confusion that occurred in the party scene is a natural and expected outcome, typically happening in new experiments, but it is crucial to address it and build a working agenda by the parties themselves or even state institutions that have a strong interest in attracting youth to party work. One of the priorities of the upcoming phase is the focus on party governance, specifically “institutionalizing” political parties, bridging the gap between parties and civil and local associations, developing clear concepts of party identity and programs, and enhancing leadership and organizational roles for youth and women, as well as providing them with more freedom for activity and work.

Mohammad Abu Rumman is Apolitical Scientist at University of Jordan and an Academic Advisor of Politics and Society Institute (PSI)