Political Science

Jordan gained its independence in 1946 and took the name Jordan in 1950.During most of its modern day history the kingdom was ruled by King Hussein, King Abdullah I having been assassinated in 1951, and he has now been succeeded by his son King Abdullah II. Abdullah I had been proclaimed king by the Transjordanian government. The majority of the population is Muslim but this doesnt mean that it isnt forward thinking. The country is a democracy in that there are regular elections. According to the World Book Jordan web site 20 of council seats are reserved for women so in that it differs from America. The other main difference of course is that there is a hereditary monarchy rather than elected presidents. Family loyalty is very important among Arab peoples and the king acts as head of a sort of extended family  the people of Jordan , most of whom share a common faith and ethic origin.

In America, despite having the words Under God state and religion are quite separate, in part because of the ethnic diversity of its people, whereas Jordanians are 98 Arab and 92 Sunni Muslim. There is a small Christian minority and some people are Shia Muslims.

Because of the relatively low average life span this is a young peoples country.
The monarch is, as well as being the head of state, the chief executive and the commander-in-chief of the armed forces which is similar to the American position. The king acts through his prime minister and cabinet. These are responsible  to the elected  House of Deputies and the House of Notables or Senate. The prime ministers role is rather different from that of the Vice President, whose main role is to act as the heir to the presidency if  the former should die in office. Both are relatively young countries andn both seek the best for their people, whatever their origins. This means that in each case all adults are part of the democratic process.