“Is there life after death?” Surviving an electoral defeat in Jordan

Based on the case of Jordanian MPs who failed to secure re-election in 2020, the article proposes a contribution to the sociology of political defeat, analyzing both the way ex-MPs interpret their defeat and the effects of this event on their biographical and political careers. The study first explores the strategies employed by MPs to ignore their own responsibility in the defeat, and to convert the latter into a resource of political legitimacy. The study of the post-defeat period then shows that remaining in the political field is conditional on the possession of resources that can be reconverted outside Parliament. While most ex-MPs find themselves excluded from the political field and suffer a devaluation of their notability resources accumulated at local level, a more professionalized minority manages to remain in other political arenas, which they invest in the continuity of the parliamentary roles they have hitherto assumed within the institution.