Jordan after the Iraq War: Its policy toward Iraqi Refugees

神奈川県茅ヶ崎市The purpose of this study is to clarify the migration trend of Iraqi refugees after the Iraq War andthe Jordanian government’s policy on this issue following its long historical relationship with Iraq. After the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, both Iraq and Jordan were established under the Hashemite dynasty, which was supported by Britain and France during the Mandate Period. After the coup d’état, monarchy ended in Iraq, and Saddam Hussein and his Ba’ath party ascended to power. Initially, the relation between Iraq and Jordan was tense because of the Ba’ath ideology. However King Hussein of Jordan chose to consider Iraq as a strong partner in the region, and Iraq found benefit from having close ties with Jordan. The two countries thus became close allies and remained so even after the two wars in the Gulf area; the Iran-Iraq War of 1980-88 and the Gulf War in 1991. After the Iraq War, the situation changed: the government under Saddam Hussein was overturned, and Iraq fell into turmoil of violence under its new provisional government. King Hussein had already passed away and was succeeded by King Abdullah Ⅱ who assumed a pro-the Western stance. Nevertheless, Jordan continued to support the Iraqi refugees and provided a safe base for the international relief organizations; this stance was unwelcomed by Iraqi extremists. In November 2005, three hotels in Amman were attacked supposedly by Al-Qaida group. Jordan closed its border with Iraq as a preventive measure against the infiltration of more Islamic extremists. Another wave of refugee migration further changed the situation. In 2006, the bombing of the Shiite Askari Mosque in Iraq ignited conflict between the religious sects in Iraq. Jordan was unable to stop the influx of Iraqi refugees fleeing from the violence, and offered them a safe living space. However, at the same time the Jordanian government revised its immigration regulations. It welcomed international aid for the refugees under the condition that the country itself be considered as one of the beneficiaries. Thus, Jordan took advantage of its position and found its new way to survive amidst the Middle-Eastern turmoil following the Iraq Wa