Jamal Al-Tahat
Jamal Al Tahat is a is a senior advisor at DAWN. He has spent decades advocating for democratization in Jordan. He has extensive research experience in many fields, including in economics at the Jordanian Royal Scientific Society. Al Tahat worked as an instructor, researcher, and managing editor of the strategic journal (Istrategia Al-Ordun) at the Center for Strategic Studies at the Jordanian National Defense College. He then joined the Advanced Research Group as a visiting fellow with the British Royal Defense Academy for five years.
Al Tahat also worked as a project consultant with the United Nations Development Program Jordan to develop a pilot project for demand-oriented local socio-economic development. Al Tahat also worked in the renewable energy sector in Jordan, including as a regional marketing research manager for the Zain telecom group. Most recently he worked on media research with special focus on disinformation with Zephyr Associates, a British not-for-profit organization.
Al Tahat has published numerous articles in Arabic across a variety of Jordanian daily news outlets. His education is widely interdisciplinary, starting with his BSC Physics and Mathematics studies at Yarmouk University in Jordan, then earning his Post Graduate in Philosophy at the University of Jordan, and finally his Master's in Development Studies from University of Leeds, England in 1995.
Abstract
Jamal Al-Tahat critically assessed Jordan’s 2024 parliamentary elections, highlighting their failure to advance democratic governance. He detailed how King Abdullah has steadily expanded executive control while weakening the legislative branch. Constitutional amendments have rendered parliament largely ineffective, resulting in widespread public disillusionment, evidenced by a 68% voter abstention rate and over 260,000 blank ballots.
Al-Tahat discussed the monarchy’s “political modernization vision” as a means to centralize authority, with the royal family maintaining control over more than 25% of Jordan’s GDP across various sectors. He emphasized the distortion of electoral outcomes: the Islamic Action Front secured 28% of the vote yet won only 42% of parliamentary seats.
