February 2003

POLL: Jordan - US Relations: Generally "Good"

A recent study conducted by a Jordanian firm, West Asia Center for Strategic and Media Studies, indicated that out of 1854 persons involved in the poll, many considered the relations between Jordan and the USA as "good" and should be developed.

The poll also showed that 19% of the respondents said the Jordanian American relations are excellent; 31% said they are very good and 36% said they are good. On the contrast, 9% believed that the relations between the two countries are bad, while 5% of the participants did not mention their opinion about this issue.

While the poll indicated that 86% of the respondents consider the political and economic ties between Jordan and the US are good in general, 59% thought the Jordanian executive and legislative powers together with the civil society establishments should develop these ties. 20% of these strongly believe there is a need for bolstering these ties, while 39% expressed some support for such an orientation.

According to the poll, 64% of the respondents said the good Jordanian American relations have contributed to the American economic and political support for Jordan over the past years. This result, as the study showed, is nearly compatible with the ratio of the participants who want an improvement in the relations between the two countries (59%). The ratio of those who saw that the relations between the two countries has not contributed to attracting political and economic support for Jordan reached 26% which is close to the ratio of the participants who do not want an improvement in the Jordanian American relations (34%). The remaining 10% of the participants took a neutral stance towards the issue. In general the poll showed that Jordanians see the economic cooperation, development and investment are the best means for the improvement of the Jordanian American relations.

When the interviewed were asked to show their opinion about how Jordan can develop its political and economic relations with the United States, 13% saw this can be accomplished through absolute cooperation in all aspects, including the economic, political and military fields. Meanwhile, 10% said this could be accomplished through the optimal utilization of the free trade agreement between the two countries. While 19% of the respondents supported the need for increasing American investments in Jordan, 14% said they do not know and 11% did not say anything.

The majority of the respondents (76%) described the American policy towards the Arab and Islamic nations, including its direct influence on the UN resolutions, as unjust in general. 25% said the American policy is unjust;52% said it is oppressive, while 20% said it is fair (2% said it is very fair; 18% said it is somewhat fair) and 3% were neutral.

The vast majority of the respondents (73%) believed that the US has the power to find a solution for the Arab Israeli conflict, particularly the Palestinian issue. 37% stressed the capability of the US on solving the conflict, while 36% said they believe the US can, to some extent, find a solution to the conflict. 21% were against this opinion and the remaining 6%said they do not know.

About the West Asia Center for Strategic and Media Studies The West Asia Center for Strategic and Media Studies (WAC) is a Jordan-based firm that offers a diverse range of consulting services. Among other services, WAC specializes in conducting opinion polls, market surveys, strategic studies, and the various types of media services. WAC can bethought of as a non-biased entity that conducts opinion polls in Jordan to arrive at clearer depictions of the local view(s) on such issues, and help convey such findings to decision makers and policy analysts in the region.