Clampdown in Jordan

Jordan is clamping down following rioting in the southern city of Maan. Maan has long been a center of dissidence, and inter-tribal violence over a labor dispute is being blamed this time, though the rioters seem to have targeted government buildings and institutions. More here.

Yesterday, Marc Lynch at Foreign Policy talked about "The Wages of Arab Decay," noting the protests in Tunisia, the sectarian violence in Egypt, the Maan troubles and the recent arrest and beating of a prominent opposition figure in Kuwait as signs of growing dissent and violence in tradituionally moderate Arab states. While each of the four countries faces distinct challenges, I think it was useful to calla ttention to the parallels. Jordan's troubles, unlike Tunisia's, seem geographically limited. But economic problems have compounded the frustration of the populace, especially among the young and unemployed, against long-established, entrenched regimes.