Jordan: Politics in An Accidental Crucible (S. 15, Ep. 4)
Tue Feb 03 2026
On this week's episode of the podcast, Sean Yom of Temple University joins Marc Lynch to discuss his new book, Jordan: Politics in an Accidental Crucible. In the book, Yom provides a concise yet authoritative synthesis of the Hashemite Kingdom's development from its founding over a century ago to the present. He explores Jordan's government, society, economy, and foreign policy in a systematic manner, offering an immersive tour of this vital Arab country. Uniquely, he combines theoretical work from political science, sociology, and other scholarly fields with firsthand knowledge of Jordan garnered over decades of study. His insights show how Jordan's political experiences form a microcosm for understanding the entire Middle East.
This year, in addition to the book conversations, POMEPS Director and podcast host Marc Lynch will be providing more context on the book itself or topics related to the book. Each week you'll hear about published academic research and other interesting material on the topic that Marc wants to share. You'll be able to find all of the citations and links at the end of the weekly podcast post.
Music for this season’s podcast was created by Feras Arrabi. You can find more of his work on his website Music and Sound at www.ferasarrabi.com.
POMEPS, directed by Marc Lynch, is based at the Institute for Middle East Studies at the George Washington University and is supported by Carnegie Corporation of New York.
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On this week's episode of the podcast, Sean Yom of Temple University joins Marc Lynch to discuss his new book, Jordan: Politics in an Accidental Crucible. In the book, Yom provides a concise yet authoritative synthesis of the Hashemite Kingdom's development from its founding over a century ago to the present. He explores Jordan's government, society, economy, and foreign policy in a systematic manner, offering an immersive tour of this vital Arab country. Uniquely, he combines theoretical work from political science, sociology, and other scholarly fields with firsthand knowledge of Jordan garnered over decades of study. His insights show how Jordan's political experiences form a microcosm for understanding the entire Middle East. This year, in addition to the book conversations, POMEPS Director and podcast host Marc Lynch will be providing more context on the book itself or topics related to the book. Each week you'll hear about published academic research and other interesting material on the topic that Marc wants to share. You'll be able to find all of the citations and links at the end of the weekly podcast post. Music for this season’s podcast was created by Feras Arrabi. You can find more of his work on his website Music and Sound at www.ferasarrabi.com. POMEPS, directed by Marc Lynch, is based at the Institute for Middle East Studies at the George Washington University and is supported by Carnegie Corporation of New York.