King Hussein and the Challenge of Arab Radicalism: Jordan, 1955-1967 (Studies in Middle Eastern History)

219 Pages·1991·10.97 MB·English

by  Uriel Dann

KING HUSSEIN AND THE CHALLENGE
OF ARAB RADICALISM
STUDIES IN MIDDLE EASTERN HISTORY
Bernard Lewis, Itamar Rabinovich, and Roger Savory,
GENERAL EDITORS
THE TURBAN FOR THE CROWN
The Islamic Revolution in Iran
Said Amir Arjomand
LANGUAGE AND CHANGE IN THE ARAB MIDDLE EAST
The Evolution of Modern Arabic Political Discourse
Ami Ayalon
ISLAMIC REFORM
Politics and Social Change in Late Ottoman Syria
David Dean Commins
KING HUSSEIN AND THE CHALLENGE OF ARAB RADICALISM
Jordan, 1955-1967
Uriel Dann
EGYPT, ISLAM, AND THE ARABS
The Search for Egyptian Nationhood, 1900-1930
Israel Gershoni and James Jankowski
EAST ENCOUNTERS WEST
France and the Ottoman Empire in the Eighteenth Century
Fatma Miige Gocek
THE FERTILE CRESCENT, 1800-1914
A Documentary Economic History
Edited by Charles Issawi
ESTRANGED BEDFELLOWS
Britain and France in the Middle East during the Second World War
Aviel Roshwald
OTHER VOLUMES ARE IN PREPARATION
KING HUSSEIN
AND THE
CHALLENGE OF ARAB
RADICALISM
Jordan, 1955-1967
URIEL DANN
In cooperation with
THE MOSHE DAY AN CENTER
FOR MIDDLE EASTERN
AND AFRICAN STUDIES
Tel Aviv University
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
New York Oxford
Oxford University Press
Oxford New York Toronto
Delhi Bombay Calcutta Madras Karachi
Petaling Jaya Singapore Hong Kong Tokyo
Nairobi Dar es Salaam Cape Town
Melbourne Auckland
and associated companies in
Berlin I bad an
Copyright © 1989 by Oxford University Press, Inc.
First published in 1989 by Oxford University Press, Inc.,
200 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016
First Issued as an Oxford University Press paperback, 1991
Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means,
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Dann, Uriel, 1922-
King Hussein and the challenge of Arab radicalism : Jordan
1955-1967 / Uriel Dann.
p. cm.—(Studies in Middle Eastern history)
Includes index.
ISBN 0-19-505498-9
ISBN 0-19-507134-4 (pbk)
I. Jordan—Politics and government. 2. Jordan—Foreign relations—
Arab countries. 3. Arab countries—Foreign relations—Jordan.
4. Hussein, King of Jordan, 1935- . I. Title. II. Series:
Studies in Middle Eastern history (New York, N.Y.)
DS154.55.D35 1989
956.95'043—dc!9 88-29104
1 3 5 7 9 8 6 42
Printed in the United States of America
on acid-free paper
In memory of Zeev Bar-Lavie, "Biber," 1927-1985
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However much one may admire the courage of this lonely young
king, it is difficult to avoid the conclusion his days are numbered.
Anthony Nutting, former British minister of state for
foreign affairs, New York Herald Tribune, 31 July 1958
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Preface
The epigraph has proved to be wrong. I myself pronounced King Hus-
sein's days "numbered" before Sir Anthony Nutting did; today—perhaps
wiser than I was thirty years ago and certainly under no pressure to pon-
tificate—I predict nothing. Yet 1 cannot say that my earlier evaluation
was founded in ignorance, and certainly not in wishful thinking. There
were valid reasons for discounting the odds on Hussein and on the polity
for which he stood.
Since this book is not an occasion for self-justification, the best I can
do is exchange the role of forecaster for that of historian and find out
how Hussein survived, and why. I have assumed as little as possible. It
is true that the foundations of Hussein's rule were charged with problems.
It is also true that between 1955 and 1967, Hussein faced a challenge
and an onslaught from Arab radicalism personified by Gamal Abdel Nas-
ser and those who followed his lead, although challenge and onslaught
intensified or receded with the circumstances, dramatically diminishing
after the Six-Day War. I had to assume one constant—that Hussein was
determined to stay the course, although fluctuating moods are discernible.
Among my sources, first place goes to primary materials—official pub-
lications, newspapers, periodicals, broadcast monitorings, pamphlets—
which have again proved to me that they may serve as mines of under-
standing, not merely of information. Secondary sources are multiplying,
and I have used them as best I could. I have utilized originally classified
material as it became available; the liberal practice of declassification that
prevails in the United States carries the researcher far closer to the present
day than the thirty-year rule would allow. Interviews have given me some
confidence that I was on paths that led somewhere.
It is difficult to apportion acknowledgments for a work that has been