Talking About Wasta: Attitudes Toward Informal Politics in Jordan
Informal political practices sometimes subvert formal political institutions and laws. In this article, I will discuss the practice of wasta in Jordan. A common practice in Arab countries, wasta is a form of patron-client relations by which less-powerful citizens seek to exercise influence with more...
Wedi'i Gadw mewn:
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| Fformat: | Article ou chapitre numérique |
| Iaith: | Français |
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2024
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| Mynediad Ar-lein: | Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM |
| Crynodeb: | Informal political practices sometimes subvert formal political institutions and laws. In this article, I will discuss the practice of wasta in Jordan. A common practice in Arab countries, wasta is a form of patron-client relations by which less-powerful citizens seek to exercise influence with more-powerful government officials. I find that there is serious unfairness inherent in the practice, however, because some people “have wasta” and some do not, or have less than others. I argue that, because it turns government officials into sources of privileged access, the practice of wasta erodes social trust, leads to poor assessments of government performance, and distances citizens from the political life of the country. To make this argument, I use data from interviews I conducted with Jordanian youth. |
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