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Values in the King’s Speech.. Principles as a Framework for Policy and a Stance in Facing Crises

This vision gains its importance from the nature of the international phase in which the speech was delivered, as crises are accelerating and their arenas are multiplying, and global priorities are shifting from one crisis to another. For this reason, His Majesty began with the concept of "attention," presenting it as a political and moral resource that has a direct impact on the course of crises. What the international community gives its attention to determines the issues that receive continuous diplomatic effort and the issues that recede to the margins of priorities. Hence, attention is linked to responsibility, because continued focus on a crisis is a condition for reaching its resolution, while the absence of international focus allows facts imposed on the ground to turn into established realities.

From this entry point, the speech moved to the Palestinian cause as the clearest example of the results of the absence of sustained attention. His Majesty emphasized that for decades, the international community has dealt with the Palestinian-Israeli conflict with the logic of containing the crisis, while its political, legal, and humanitarian roots remained without decisive treatment. When repeated violations are treated as temporary occurrences, they turn over time into a permanent reality, and exceptions become an established approach. Here, justice takes on a practical dimension in the speech, because protecting justice requires continuous attention and political will capable of preventing it from becoming a slogan detached from reality.

At the heart of this vision, international law comes as one of the fundamental tests of the credibility of the international system. The question His Majesty raised about the value of the law when violations continue for decades is directly linked to the relationship between the rule and its application. International law requires actual implementation to maintain its ability to build trust between states, enhance confidence in international institutions, and consolidate the belief that agreements and commitments have practical power on the ground. When this trust declines, the gap between declared principles and political practice widens, and international cooperation becomes more difficult.

This meaning gains special importance in addressing the Palestinian cause, as His Majesty placed the issue within the framework of rights, justice, and law, away from attempts to present it as a religious conflict. Palestinians, both Muslims and Christians, are people of rights, dignity, and the right to self-determination, which makes the essence of the issue linked to the principle of equality in rights and respect for international law. Hence, justice becomes a general standard linked to human rights and dignity, and protecting these rights becomes a responsibility that falls upon the international community toward all peoples.

On this basis, peace in the speech is connected to an integrated political concept based on dialogue, rights, legal reference, and the political will capable of addressing the causes of conflict. In this context, Jordan presents itself as a state committed to diplomacy, open to dialogue, and ready to work with various parties seeking peace, while maintaining its constants and national interests. Therefore, His Majesty’s message was clear in affirming that Jordan’s adherence to diplomacy should not be interpreted as weakness, because diplomacy in the Jordanian vision is a tool for protecting interests, managing disputes, and opening political paths.

Hence, the value of steadfastness appears, which formed one of the fundamental axes of the speech. Jordan, as presented by His Majesty, seeks to build a model based on values and principles, characterized by openness and steadfastness in a phase where political calculations change rapidly. However, steadfastness here means maintaining a clear reference for the position while developing the tools that enable the state to deal with variables. Openness expands the space for dialogue and partnerships, and steadfastness maintains the clarity of direction; their combination gives policy greater ability to maneuver in a highly complex regional environment.

This system is directly linked to the concept of national responsibility. The speech puts forward a vision for managing the state in times of crisis based on dealing with immediate risks while simultaneously continuing to build the future. His Majesty emphasizes that Jordan is proceeding on both paths together, strengthening its role in trade, industry, and technology, facing humanitarian crises, developing its defense capabilities, and confronting security threats, terrorism, and drug smuggling. This equation reflects an understanding of security as an integrated system linked to the economy, development, defense capability, and social stability.

In this context, the speech clearly defines the limits of Jordanian national interests, especially regarding borders and water. His Majesty emphasized that any threat to the northern borders or water security represents a threat to Jordanian national security, and that Jordan will protect its security, water, and the interests of its people. This message clarifies that diplomatic openness is linked to protecting national interests, and that commitment to peace is accompanied by the state’s right to protect its security, sovereignty, and vital resources.

This picture is completed through the presence of the value of religious pluralism in the speech, as His Majesty links the protection of Christianity, its communities, and its historical legacy with defending the true image of Islam in the face of hate speech. This vision gains a special dimension in the context of talking about Jerusalem, with the affirmation of Jordan’s continued bearing of the Hashemite Custodianship and preserving the historical and legal status quo in Islamic and Christian holy sites. Thus, protecting religious pluralism becomes part of a broader vision for regional stability, based on respecting diversity and preserving the cultural and religious heritage of the region.

In contrast to the focus on military power in managing conflicts, the speech proposes an integrated vision for the sources of stability, especially since power can perform specific security functions, but it does not address hunger, does not return displaced persons to their homes, does not build peace, and does not manage issues of climate, migration, and technological development. Therefore, the world needs legitimate institutions, effective law, political dialogue, mutual trust, and international cooperation. Hence the importance of combining in the speech the development of defense capabilities with the continuation of diplomatic and humanitarian work, reflecting a balance between the requirements of security and the necessities of peace.

The Palestinian cause remains the clearest area where these values intersect. Justice is linked to the rights of Palestinians, international law is linked to protecting these rights, peace is linked to finding a just political solution, and steadfastness is linked to Jordan’s continued support for Palestinian resilience and support for UNRWA. Meanwhile, historical and religious responsibility is linked to the Hashemite Custodianship of Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem. Furthermore, linking Gaza and the West Bank within one vision confirms that addressing the issue requires a comprehensive political path that leads to the establishment of a viable Palestinian state.

Through this system, the speech presents a clear picture of Jordan’s position in the region and the world, especially since Jordan is a state that believes in diplomacy and dialogue, maintains its international relations, and at the same time adheres to its constants and national interests. This explains His Majesty’s emphasis that Jordan is a country the world can rely on, faithful to its principles, committed to its positions, and ready for dialogue and work with everyone who seeks peace. This image gives political steadfastness a value directly linked to the state’s ability to build trust with its partners, because the clarity and continuity of positions represent an important foundation for international relations.

Here, "trust" appears as the value that brings together the various elements of the speech. Law needs trust in its application, agreements need trust in adherence to them, international institutions need legitimacy that enjoys the trust of states and peoples, and peace needs the trust of the parties in the ability of the political path to produce just results. This is why His Majesty linked the collapse of trust to the escalation of the difficulty of challenges, and the preservation of it to the possibility of cooperation.

From this angle, His Majesty’s speech provides a political reading of values as part of the state’s power and credibility. Justice gives the position its moral and legal basis, diplomacy provides the tools for movement, steadfastness maintains the clarity of direction, openness expands opportunities for cooperation, responsibility links policy to human security and its future, and trust gives this system greater ability to influence.

The importance of the speech lies in placing these values within a realistic political context. Jordan operates in a region where wars abound and issues of border security, water, energy, trade, and migration are intertwined, and it deals with crises that require a rapid response, while at the same time maintaining the path of state-building and strengthening its capabilities. Therefore, the talk about values in the speech comes linked to national interests, presenting them as a framework for managing and protecting these interests.

The deepest message in His Majesty’s speech came through the emphasis that principles require practice to protect their meaning, law requires enforcement, justice requires protection, peace requires political will, diplomacy requires consistency, and trust requires commitment. Thus, values become a framework for policy and a source of the state’s political power.

In conclusion, it can be said that when His Majesty places the responsibility for the future at the end of his speech in the balance of what the world chooses to give its attention to and what it decides to ignore, he places the international community before a clear political and moral responsibility. The crises that persist are not only the product of what happens on the ground, but also the result of the positions that countries take toward them, the issues that receive their attention, and those they leave outside the circle of international action. Hence, values transform from declared principles into positions and policies, consistency in them becomes an expression of the state’s strength and the clarity of its vision, and protecting them becomes a responsibility linked to the security, rights, and future of peoples. Because respecting the law, protecting justice, defending humanity, and striving for peace require a political will that protects them from retreating in the face of changing calculations, the future of the international system will remain linked to the extent of its ability to transform these principles into a practice that governs its behavior and determines its positions.

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