Wednesday, September 11, 2024

Jordanian Queen Rania’s Statement on Israel’s current war

This is a recent English-language statement statement by Queen Rania of Jordan on Israel's current war against Palestinians. (1) (The speech is about 16 minutes, but the “live” version YouTube repeats the entire speech several times.)


Just to be clear: Queen Rania is wife of the sovereign of Jordan. Jordan is a monarchy with an elected lower house of parliament that has little actual power. Freedom House rates Jordan as “not free,” giving it a freedom score of 33 out of 100. (2) The V-Dem (Varieties of Democracy) Democracy Report 2024 classifies Jordan as a Closed Autocracy, with others in that category including China, Afghanistan, and Saudi Arabia. (3)

I assume that the queen is speaking for her government. So, her comments must be taken in that context. Such a statement cannot be treated as an independent news analysis or as a personal political statement of opinion.

It’s worth noting because this has become a big issue for the Global South. That does mean that China or India is going to be leading a military intervention against Israel. Nothing like that is in the cards. But it does mean that the Jordanian queen’s view of the conflict is likely to resonate far more widely in much of the world than it does in the US or Europe.

She is also very experienced in projecting her messages in English.

Notes:

(1) LIVE: Jordanian Queen Rania Slams Western Hypocrisy: If Russia Sanctioned, Why Not Israel For Gaza? OneIndia News YouTube channel 09/08/2024. <https://www.youtube.com/live/ODaku3fButE?si=twVa6KP0W_2S8Wc9> (Accessed: 2024-10-09).

(2) Jordan. Freedom House, n/d. <https://freedomhouse.org/country/jordan> (Accessed: 2024-10-09).

(3) Democracy Report 2024: Democracy Winning and Losing at the Ballot. V-Dem Institute March 2024. <https://www.v-dem.net/documents/43/v-dem_dr2024_lowres.pdf>

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