Jordan introduced legislation in 2015 to initiate a process of decentralization. Both the decision to decentralize as well as the form of decentralization that Jordan ultimately pursued have thus far been explained as regime efforts to reinforce its position and that of its clientelist base. While acknowledging that Jordan’s decision to decentralize was driven by broader political dynamics (including patron-clientelism), the article questions the extent to which these dynamics can account for the actual design of Jordan’s decentralization reforms. Through a detailed examination of the process through which the 2015 Decentralization Law was passed, the article argues that the Law was not only a result of patron-client politics, but also the product of a complex policy process. Drawing on this close-range investigation of the policy process leading to the Law, the article outlines some of the key parameters within which Jordanian policy is made, thereby contributing to the burgeoning literature that calls for policy to be brought into the study of authoritarian regimes.

约旦于 2015 年通过立法启动权力下放进程。迄今为止，约旦最终追求的权力下放决定和权力下放形式都被解释为政权努力加强其地位和其客户基础的地位。虽然承认约旦的权力下放决定是由更广泛的政治动态（包括赞助人支持）驱动的，但本文质疑这些动态在多大程度上可以解释约旦权力下放改革的实际设计。通过对 2015 年权力下放法的通过过程的详细审查，文章认为该法不仅是赞助-客户政治的结果，而且是复杂政策过程的产物。