Primordial ties vis-à-vis citizenship: The particularity of the Jordanian city

This paper seeks to investigate the vital role played by the primordial attachments which are based on ties of blood, race, language, region, and religion in shaping the Jordanian society and identity. In a society like Jordan, which is labelled as a tribal society and is largely produced and reproduced by primordial loyalties and attachments, concepts of the individual and citizenship seem almost non-existent. Throughout this paper, it is argued that unlike the European city, the Jordanian city has played a crucial role in producing, reproducing, maintaining and reinforcing tribal affiliations and identities. Moreover, the paper illustrates the essentialist mosaic and segmentary models of collective identity which are adopted by Western scholars in particular when studying the Arab world including the Jordanian society.