Jordan and ICT‐led development: towards a competition state?

This paper describes Jordan's strategy to develop a strong ICT sector that will be internationally competitive. This strategy is analysed in two ways. First, by a comparison with two countries, Ireland and Singapore, with similarities as nation states and which are widely seen as successful in promoting and sustaining strong ICT sectors. Second, through an analysis of Jordan as a competition state where the role of the state is being redefined so as to implement policies in a globalising world. It is found that Jordan exhibits many of the characteristics of a competition state in terms of the promotion of mixtures of public and private partnerships and in developing relations with international agencies and multinational enterprises to create a strong ICT sector. Using these analyses, the prospects for Jordan's initiative are assessed and issues that will be of importance for its success are pointed out.