In the face of upheaval authoritarian resilience in Jordan and Lebanon during the Arab Spring

The countries of the Middle East and North Africa have experiencing the impact of the Arab Spring in a multitude of ways. The Regimes in Jordan and Lebanon, despite having witnessed anti-regime popular mobilizations and coping with turmoil of neighbouring countries, are apparently still maintaining control of the two countries. Adding to the complexity is the fact that both Jordan and Lebanon suffer from the same, dire socio-economic and political problems that are found in the countries that did experience an uprising such as Syria and Yemen. This Research paper seeks to analyse and explain the continuation of the relative resilience of the Jordanian and Lebanese regimes. The main argument presented here is that there is a link between a Regime’s behaviour and its composition. Understanding this link is crucial to understand a Regime’s ability to withstand challenges. Through a Neo-Gramscian theoretical framework, this paper’s main finding is the Regimes that are found in Jordan and Lebanon emerged from political and socio-economic circumstances which continue to strengthen them politically and ideologically.