Difference between revisions of "Wasta (Middle East and North Africa)"

<div class='item'>''Wāsṭa'' is an Arabic term that, in its practical day-to-day usage, refers to the deployment of informal, personal intermediation on behalf of an individual or a group to secure some benefit that would be otherwise unobtainable or too burdensome<ref>Makhoul, J. and Harrison, L.2004. 'Intercessory Wasta and Village Development in Lebanon', Arab Studies Quarterly, 26(3): 25-41.</ref>.  The term is derived from the triliteral root ''wāw / sīn / ṭā’'', a tri-consonantal pattern that forms the basis of words, both nouns and verbs, relating to "middle."  Accordingly, this three letter configuration serves as a template for constructing a number of expressions that range from "to place, put, or set in the middle" to "medial, median, intermediate"<ref>Wehr, Hans. 1994. Arabic-English Dictionary: The Hans Wehr Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic. Ithaca, NY: Spoken Language Services, Inc.</ref>.  It is within this specific semantic field that ''wāsṭa'' is variously defined as "the act of mediation / intercession"<ref>Cunningham, R. B. and Sarayrah, Y. K. 1994. 'Taming Wasta to Achieve Development', Arab Studies Quarterly, 16(3): 29-41.</ref> as well as "mediator, mediatress, intermediary" or a "personal connection (of s.o. [someone], used to gain s.th. [something])"<ref>Wehr, Hans. 1994. Arabic-English Dictionary: The Hans Wehr Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic. Ithaca, NY: Spoken Language Services, Inc.</ref>.<br>The scope of ''wāsṭa'' spans across the Arabic speaking countries of the Persian Gulf, the Levant and North Africa, notwithstanding occurrences of a somewhat similar colloquial phrase, ''coup de piston''<ref>Gray, Dorris H. 2008. Muslim Women on the Move:  Moroccan Women and French Women of Moroccan Origin Speak Out. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books.</ref> or simply ''piston'', found in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia<ref>Gray, Dorris H. 2008. Muslim Women on the Move:  Moroccan Women and French Women of Moroccan Origin Speak Out. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books.</ref>.  Of course, familiarity with ''wāsṭa'' is not limited solely to the native Arabic speakers in the indicated areas.  Expatriate laborers living and working in these regions are often intimately accustomed to the advantages or hindrances of ''wāsṭa''<ref>Shah, N. M., M. A. Shah, and Behbehani, J. 1996. 'Ethnicity, Nationality and Health Care Accessibility in Kuwait:  A Study of Hospital Emergency Room Users', Health Policy and Planning,11(3): 319-328.</ref>, a fact that underscores its pervasiveness in many Arab states.<br>In what might be its least contentious guise, ''wāsṭa'' is called upon to negotiate or resolve disputes between parties without resorting to formal legal procedures.  The underlying logic in such cases is that, "intervention for conflict management is always recommended... [and] the intermediary is always to be preferred to the self as an effective pleader"<ref>Antoun, Richard T.2000. 'Civil Society, Tribal Process, and Change in Jordan:  An Anthropological View', International Journal of Middle East Studies, 32(4): 441-463.</ref>. One or more mediators<ref>Ayoub, Victor. 1966. 'Resolution of Conflict in a Lebanese Village', in L. Binder (ed.), Politics in Lebanon. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.:  107-126.</ref> ideally act as evenhanded conciliators and are agreeable to the antagonists<ref>Weir, Shelagh. 2007. A Tribal Order:  Politics and Law in the Mountains of Yemen. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press.</ref>.  Moreover, forming a ''wāsṭa'' is intended not only to resolve the discord itself, but also to redress the resulting social disruptions that the friction causes<ref>Ayoub, Victor. 1966. 'Resolution of Conflict in a Lebanese Village', in L. Binder (ed.), Politics in Lebanon. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.:  107-126.</ref>.  Therefore, compromise, reconciliation and the restoration of relationships<ref>Antoun, Richard T. 1979.  Low-Key Politics:  Local-Level Leadership and Change in the Middle East. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.</ref> are the desired outcomes of this mode of ''wāsṭa'' arbitration – even if residual animosities continue to persist – rather than the assignment of unilateral blame and one-sided punishments<ref>Antoun, Richard T. 2000. 'Civil Society, Tribal Process, and Change in Jordan:  An Anthropological View', International Journal of Middle East Studies, 32(4): 441-463.</ref>.<br>More commonly, though, ''wāsṭa'' is associated with the informal trading of favours between persons or groups.  These exchanges can be precipitated by any variety of needs, but a range of common examples may include, "helping someone to get a government permit for a new business, to have his child enrolled in a prestigious school, to arrange for a telephone, to find employment, to postpone legal action, etc."<ref>Huxley, Frederick Charles. 1978. 'Wasita in a Lebanese Context:  Social Exchange Among Villagers and Outsiders', Anthropological Papers, 64. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Museum of Anthropology.</ref>. The deployment of ''wāsṭa'' in such cases involved chains of interpersonal ties being activated and scrutinised until a liaison who can potentially provide satisfaction is located within the networks of family, friends, colleagues, coworkers, or the ubiquitous "friends of friends"<ref>Boissevain, Jeremy. 1974. Friends of Friends:  Networks, Manipulators and Coalitions. New York: St. Martin's Press.</ref>.<br>Unlike prototypical patron-client dealings, however, ''wāsṭa'' is not normally viewed as a hierarchical transaction; instead, procuring and using ''wāsṭa'' is part and parcel of the obligations that underwrite existing, or coveted, social bonds.  In other words, much like similar occurrences in other geographic and cultural settings, ''wāsṭa'' support is infused with sentiments that are in line with the notion that it is, "not a relationship for the sake of exchange but an exchange for the sake of a relationship" <ref>Ledeneva, Alena V. 2000. 'Continuity and Change of Blat Practices in Soviet and Post-Soviet Russia', in S. Lovell, A. Ledeneva, and A. Rogachevskii (eds.), Bribery and Blat in Russia:  Negotiating Reciprocity from the Middle Ages to the 1990s. New York: St. Martin's Press: 181-204.</ref>. For this reason, ''wāsṭa'' favours tend to circulate within the economies of "good-faith"<ref>Bourdieu, Pierre.1990. The Logic of Practice. Stanford: Stanford University Press.</ref> that come with social closeness and familial trust; consequently, when ''wāsṭa'' is extended, it is usually without explicit requisites<ref>Wolf, Eric. 1966. ‘Kinship, Friendship, and Patron-Client Relations in Complex Societies.’, in M. Banton (ed.),The Social Anthropology of Complex Societies. New York: Frederick A. Praeger: 1-22.</ref> or deadlines for compensation.  Nonetheless, it should be recognized that there are those who are adept at manipulating this entire ''wāsṭa'' framework for their own agendas:  politicians swapping bureaucratic largess for votes, businessmen bartering parliamentary backing for contracts, or local elites dispensing aid to augment the retinues and bolster their individual reputations.<br>Not surprisingly, ''wāsṭa'' has attracted its fair share of critics who are quick to note that it carries many of the same connotations that come with nepotism<ref><br>Haladjian-Henriksen, Sylvia. 2006. 'Social Stratification Obstacles to Reducing Inequality and Alleviating Poverty:  The Case of Lebanon', in M. Petmesidou and C. Papatheodorou (eds), Poverty and Social Deprivation in the Mediterranean:  Trends, Policies, and Welfare Prospects in the New Millennium.  London: Zed Books: 308-319.<br></ref>, dependency<ref>Perthes, Volker. 1997. The Political Economy of Syria Under Asad. New York: St. Martin's Press.</ref> and corruption<ref>Kilani, S. and Sakijha, B. 2002. Wasta: The Declared Secret. Amman: Jordan Press Foundation Printing Press.</ref>.  On the one hand, it is true that ''wāsṭa'' can facilitate the necessary inroads required to press legitimate claims, such as those that are put before what are often overstaffed and opaque state bureaucracies<ref>Hertog, Steffen. 2010. 'The Sociology of the Gulf Rentier Systems:  Societies of </ref>. Yet, at the other end of the spectrum, it is just as accurate to pinpoint ''wāsṭa'' as a mechanism by which those with insufficient credentials can outflank more qualified competitors, like with landing a job or winning a promotion.  Still, whether ''wāsṭa'' is used for so-called benevolent purposes<ref>Kilani, S. and Sakijha, B. 2002. Wasta: The Declared Secret. Amman: Jordan Press Foundation Printing Press.</ref>, such as navigating impenetrable government red tape, or utilised for more questionable motives, what is unmistakable is the power of ''wāsṭa'' brokerage to disproportionately shape the probabilities for betterment in a multitude of arenas.<br><br>==Notes==<br><references /><br>[[Category:Middle East]]<br>[[Category:Functional]<br>[[Gaming the System]]<br>[[Category:Intermediation]]