From Guardianship to Governance: Assessing the Institutional Development and Autonomy of the Jordanian General Intelligence Directorate
Open AccessJordanian intelligence service, known as the General Intelligence Directorate (GID) or Mukhabarat, is reputed to be all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-present. Claims that nothing happens in the kingdom without their permission are not far-fetched, but this was not always the case. This dissertation explores questions about the institutional autonomy of intelligence institutions through a detailed examination of the Jordanian General Intelligence Directorate (GID). The central question of this dissertation is: what explains the variation in the GID’s institutional autonomy? Through a detailed case study of this institution, its origins, and the way that its role in Jordanian politics and society has shifted over time. In my discussion, I take a thematic approach and explain the numerous institutional, social, and economic factors that underpin the GID's institutional autonomy. This dissertation draws on extensive primary and secondary sources, as well as 14 months of fieldwork in Jordan. Ultimately, the aim of this dissertation is to elucidate critical but frequently neglected policy-making dynamics and interactions within the Jordanian politics, as well as to highlight the role of the intelligence services as an independent agent with its own and interests, constraints, and opportunities.
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