The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan remains a lynchpin state in the Middle East. Led by King Abdullah II, Jordan occupies a pivotal geographic location in regional affairs, bordering Iraq, Syria, Saudi Arabia, and Israel. This gives the Jordanian state a unique vantage point to influence regional states as well as serve as an important conduit for trade and transit. Geopolitically, Jordan is a moderate, modern, swiftly developing Arab state that enjoys conspicuously strong relations in key Western capitals like London and Washington, DC, and around the Middle East. Jordan’s proactive foreign policy has contributed to shoring up regional stability and countering extremism.
However, Jordan is more than a geopolitical player. Like many states in the region, it is a young society grappling with the challenges and opportunities that come from our swiftly evolving digital world, new modes of working, budgetary pressures, and climate changes. Jordan is also at the forefront of the drive to combat drug smuggling, a growing phenomenon with a growing regional impact.
Despite Jordan’s central position in Middle East geopolitics and security debates, the state remains comparatively understudied. The Centre for Jordan Studies (CJS) at Hume Institute Lausanne aims to contribute to rectifying this lacuna. The CJS will, in due course, produce its own analysis and research. At the same time, it will act as a commissioning think-tank. In other words, the CJS will partner with regional and international centres and scholars to create synergies for dialogue and collaboration. In this way, the CJS will work with relevant scholars and analysts to obtain specific and tailored insight, unlike traditional research centres where in-house analysts who may or may not be experts offer their thoughts.
The CJS is a non-political think-tank. Rather, the CJS aims to boost understanding and awareness of Jordan as a critical state in the Middle East region and to find openings where research, policy, or trade and business initiatives can mutually prosper. Lastly, but equally importantly, the CJS leverages decades of institutional experience among its team to deliver specific, adapted, and custom-built training and education courses meeting the needs of governmental, commercial, and academic audiences.
ABOUT US & CORE ACTIVITIES
The CJS is a strategic studies centre emphasising engagement and knowledge exchange based at the Hume Institute Lausanne, whose goal is to focus research on the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan as a critical but comparatively under-researched lynchpin state in one of the most pivotal regions of the world.
