In Jordan, King Abdullah II has steered a delicate course through a turbulent region, balancing global alliances with domestic pressures, as vividly captured in The Most American King, the first comprehensive biography of the king. Drawing on over 100 interviews with Abdullah’s classmates, former Jordanian ministers, and CIA directors, author Aaron Magid, a former Amman-based journalist, traces Abdullah’s journey from a Massachusetts prep school and British military academy to the throne. Abdullah, ruling now for over a quarter century, has survived the 2011 Arab Spring upheavals that toppled neighboring leaders, while navigating wars, refugee crises, and internal dissent. His intelligence services have thwarted Al-Qaeda plots. His ties to the US remain deep. But a $15 billion gas deal with Israel, and the decision to host US troops for the 2003 Iraq invasion sparked protests and criticism from the Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood and other groups. How has Abdullah maintained power in a volatile region while managing these tensions? What do his pro-Western policies mean for Jordan’s future and its role in Middle Eastern geopolitics?
Aaron Magid is the author of The Most American King: Abdullah of Jordan and hosts the On Jordan podcast. A former Amman-based journalist, his articles on the Hashemite Kingdom have appeared in Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, and Al-Monitor. He holds a B.A. in Arabic and political science from the University of Michigan and an M.A. in Middle Eastern Studies from Harvard University.
