This talk will examine the resilience of the Hashemite monarchy in the face of the Arab
Spring. It will provide a historically informed alternative to the ‘presentism’ that infects much of the analysis of the monarchy’s prospects and the somewhat sensationalist coverage of the January elections and the November price riots now consecrated in Jordanian opposition discourse as ‘Habbat Tishrin.’ The talk
will argue that the restraint of its security forces and the fragmentation the Jordanian street allowed the regime to contain popular protest by means of a limited program of political reform.

Tariq Tell is a political economist currently serving as Visiting Assistant Professor at the Centre for Arab and Middle Eastern Studies (CAMES) at the American University of Beirut. He hold a D.Phil. in Politics from St. Antony’s College
(Oxford University) and previously taught at the American University in Cairo and the University of Manchester (UK). Dr. Tell is co-editor of "Village, Steppe and State: The Social Origins of Modern Jordan"
(I.B. Tauris, 1994) and editor of "The Resilience of Hashemite Rule: Politics and the State in Jordan before 1967" (Cermoc, 2001). His book, "The Social and Economic Origins of Monarchy in Jordan"
(Palgrave, 2013). His current research interests include the comparative history and politics of Arab monarchies and the relationship between imperialism, food security, and popular protest in the Middle East