Contextualising decentralisation reform and open government in Jordan

This chapter sets out the historical, political and administrative system in which Jordan’s decentralisation reform process is taking place. It places the approval of the 2015 Decentralisation Law and Municipality in the broader context of the democratisation process over the last decade and discusses the objective of the reform with a view to the economic (e.g. achieving economic resilience and a more balanced development across the country) and social (e.g. a young, diverse and dispersed population) realities. By referring to King Abdullah II’s vision of a political development process that starts at the grassroots level and key provisions in Jordan 2025, the Chapter carves out the leitmotif of the reform that is to improve economic conditions, deliver quality public services and encourage local economic development driven by a new culture of popular participation at the subnational levels of government.