• Research
  • Politika
  • About
Carnegie Russia Eurasia center logoCarnegie lettermark logo
  • Donate
{
  "authors": [
    "Nathan J. Brown",
    "Lamis El Muhtaseb",
    "Abdul-Wahab Kayyali"
  ],
  "type": "other",
  "centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
  "centers": [
    "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace"
  ],
  "collections": [
    "Arab Awakening"
  ],
  "englishNewsletterAll": "menaTransitions",
  "nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
  "primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
  "programAffiliation": "MEP",
  "programs": [
    "Middle East"
  ],
  "projects": [],
  "regions": [
    "Middle East",
    "North Africa",
    "Jordan"
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Political Reform",
    "Democracy"
  ]
}

Source: Getty

Other

Arguing About Family Law in Jordan: Disconnected Spheres

Activist groups rarely talk to each other in public, and when they do, their discourses aim primarily at mobilizing support within their own camps rather than addressing each other's concerns.

Link Copied
By Nathan J. Brown, Lamis El Muhtaseb, Abdul-Wahab Kayyali
Published on Sep 30, 2016

Source: International Journal of Middle East Studies

The polarization of politics in many Arab societies, on full and even violent display since the uprisings of 2011, has been evident for decades. Adherents of various ideological orientations have advanced sharply different visions of a good society in debates about public policy. Many appear to be talking past each other, basing their conceptions of morality and rights on such widely different sources that they argue in separate worlds. The divisions have often been sharpest on gender issues. Disagreements over constitutional revision, personal status law, honor crimes, and other matters often polarize between those who anchor their arguments in Islamic legal thought and those who turn instead to liberal conceptions of rights, sometimes relying on international human rights instruments. Can politics—understood as the struggle over public policy outcomes—help fellow citizens bridge those differences? Or do members of each camp talk largely among themselves, only deepening their divisions?...

Read the full article at the International Journal of Middle East Studies. 

About the Authors

Nathan J. Brown

Nonresident Senior Fellow, Middle East Program

Nathan J. Brown, a professor of political science and international affairs at George Washington University, is a distinguished scholar and author of nine books on Arab politics and governance, as well as editor of five books.

Lamis El Muhtaseb

Abdul-Wahab Kayyali

Arab Barometer

Abdul-Wahab Kayyali is a research associate at the Arab Barometer. His research interests are in political parties, social movements and general political agency in the Arab World

Authors

Nathan J. Brown
Nonresident Senior Fellow, Middle East Program
Nathan J. Brown
Lamis El Muhtaseb
Abdul-Wahab Kayyali
Arab Barometer
Political ReformDemocracyMiddle EastNorth AfricaJordan

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

More Work from Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center

  • Commentary
    Carnegie Politika
    Control Above Reform: What’s Behind Ukraine’s Government and Security Reshuffle?

    Ultimately, Zelensky sided neither with the reform camp nor with the military establishment as such, but with political control.

      Balázs Jarábik

  • Commentary
    Carnegie Politika
    Where Are President Tokayev’s Political Reforms Leading Kazakhstan?

    Tokayev’s predecessor, Nursultan Nazarbayev, outlined arrangements for a power transition too soon and in too much detail, ultimately losing control over the process. Tokayev is determined not to meet the same fate.

      Temur Umarov

  • Commentary
    Carnegie Politika
    Parliamentary Elections in Occupied Ukraine Risk Backfiring for the Kremlin

    Despite unhappiness on the ground, Moscow is determined to use both carrot and stick to ensure there is record support for United Russia in occupied Ukraine.

      Konstantin Skorkin

  • Commentary
    Carnegie Politika
    Moldova’s Ruling Party PAS Must Graduate From Crisis Management to State Governance

    Whether PAS can refocus on the unfinished business of state-building may ultimately prove more consequential for Moldova’s European future than the pace of its accession negotiations.

      Balázs Jarábik

  • Commentary
    Carnegie Politika
    Snubbed by United Russia as Elections Loom, Medvedev Looks Condemned to Eternal Obscurity

    Medvedev’s defeat in the battle for the position of speaker appears to signal that the long process of his marginalization in Russian politics has passed the point of no return.

      Andrey Pertsev

Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center
Carnegie Russia Eurasia logo, white
  • Research
  • Politika
  • About
  • Experts
  • Events
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • For Media
Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center
© 2026 Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. All rights reserved.