The impacts of multi-layered identities on relationship with others: the case of Palestinians and Syrian refugees in Jordan

This study aims to analyse how the multilayered nature of Jordanian society – encompassing national identity, sub-national identity, and transnational Arab identity – shapes relationships among Transjordanians, Palestinians, and Syrians, and impacts policy-making, using Palestinians and Syrian refugees in Jordan as case studies. This study first identifies the distinctive features of Jordan’s policy toward Palestinians in comparison with other Arab states, and examines the sub-national tensions that have arisen as a result of Palestinian integration. It further argues that Jordan’s approach toward Syrian refugees is marked by both efforts to distinguish and control them in order to safeguard national identity, and tendencies to accept their coexistence in accordance with transnational Arab identity. In doing so, the study contends that the category of the nation-state alone is insufficient in explaining the relationships among Jordan’s diverse groups, and that Jordan’s refugee policy is significantly constructed by the country’s multilayered identity structure. This study further demonstrates that the principles governing refugee integration and exclusion in Jordan are shaped by the interplay of identity dynamics operating at both regional and domestic levels.