TY - JOUR TI - Vitamin or poison? DO - https://doi.org/doi:10.7282/T3DB8473 PY - 2016 AB - Relations between Arab citizens and their governments are often mediated by the practice of wasta, an Arabic term that involves favoritism, patronage, influence, clientelism, nepotism, and similar social issues. Arabs report they must use wasta in any number of interactions, from getting a job to cutting through bureaucratic red tape. Up until this point, the literature on wasta has found little agreement as to whether wasta is, in fact, a form of corruption. In this project, I argue that while wasta may "work" on the small scale, binding together groups, providing material benefits, and keeping patrons in power, it has a negative impact on citizen attitudes toward politics and governance in three areas: belief in political agency, assessment of political leaders and institutions, and opinions on the likelihood of meaningful political reform. Thus, on a large scale, wasta has a detrimental impact on Jordan's political culture. Using data from the Arab Barometer survey, forty- seven interviews, and a novel public opinion collection tool called FADFED, I analyze the case of Jordan in order to analyze this hypothesis. KW - Political Science KW - Social capital KW - Conflict management--Jordan KW - Jordan--Social life and customs LA - eng ER -