Analyzing issues of gender and law in the political system of Jordan, Warrick (Villanova U.) argues that political legitimacy is fundamentally dependent upon cultural factors that affect the political system. In other words, the politicization of elements of culture contributes to the ability of the regime and other political actors to claim sociocultural legitimacy. She describes the legitimacy of the Jordanian state as combining both traditionalist and liberal strands embodied in Islamic and non-Islamic law that incorporate social values and practices with regard to gender, the cultural characteristic that is her focus here. The dual legal system, according to Warrick, is used as a strategic tool by the Jordanian state in its quest for legitimacy, with varying impacts on the interests of women that are by no means reducible to a simple dichotomy between Islamic and non-Islamic law. Annotation ©2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)