Jordan has embarked on what some might call the biggest
political reform since 1989. That is, if we read the recommendations of the
Royal Committee to Modernize the Political System. A hybrid parliament,
comprehensive identity, youth and women candidates, energized political parties
and redistricting electoral areas are among the recommendations. These
undoubtedly will help build an open and inclusive government, though many
Jordanians have already found governance through other means.
اضافة اعلان
A recent poll by the International Republican Institute
showed a number of unsurprising results: continued despair over the state of
the economy during the pandemic, little excitement for elections and disregard
for Parliament and other political institutions. This comes as no surprise, but
there is an intriguing undercurrent in the data. It is a pattern many of us are
familiar with in our own lives and communities. When government services are
lacking, workarounds fill the gap: wasta instead of official procedures,
reliance on family networks rather than elected networks, and airing grievances
within neighborhood circles rather than political engagement.
While many Jordanians decry the prevalence of wasta in
society, especially the older generation, in today’s world where we are
supposed to be building a new, more inclusive and just society, we find that
the younger generation is more willing to use their connections and social
networks to get services.
When asked if it was acceptable to use wasta to obtain a
rightful service, “something you deserve”, 59 percent of those polled said it
was very or somewhat acceptable. However, a closer look at the data breakdown
by age shows a stark generational difference: 42 percent of people over the age
of 45 said it was very unacceptable to use wasta for this purpose, while only 27
percent of people under 44 found it very unacceptable; 39 percent of those
under 44 found it very acceptable to use wasta to obtain services.
The younger generation, young families, university
graduates, accept wasta as a tool to get services they deserve much easier than
the generation of their parents. The younger generation believes it has a very
low impact on the government decision-making process, with 62 percent of young
Jordanians believing that they have no influence.
If voter behavior is expected to change, the relationship
between citizens and the state will have to be redefined; a first step toward
that would be through a more decentralized political system that enables local
government and councils to operate on a semi-independent basis.
This was reflected in the same IRI poll where there is a
notable increase in trust in tribal leadership compared to trust in formal
political and civic institutions.
Tribal leaders are often more effective representatives of
their communities than elected members of Parliament. Part of this is due to
the weakness of Parliament, the role of an MP being seen as a wasta and
employment conduit, and to the fact that centralized structures are perceived
as being unaware of the everyday challenges of the average Jordanian.
While the Royal Committee to Modernize the Political System
issued its 240-page manual on inclusive institutions (as they should be),
Parliament passed a law on local administration which re-centralized many of
the 2017 reforms, including removing local councils, decreasing elected
positions on governorate councils, and shifting some budgetary authority and
duties back to Amman.
Mayors and municipal councils were dismissed from their
posts in 2021 and elections only took place two days ago. Citizens have gone
almost a year without local elected leadership. They witness increasingly
centralized institutions and declining service delivery. In light of this,
Jordanians have found governance by
other means: familial instead of political representation, wasta instead of
formal service delivery, and hesitancy in formal political engagement, all
without formal government processes.
The trigger for this workaround starts with service
delivery, and it all stems from the local level. If we want to engage citizens,
the first step is to develop a municipal level where citizens can observe,
influence and hold leaders accountable.
Jordanians are more inclined to trust their local leaders;
73 percent trust municipalities while 36 percent trust the Parliament, which
can be the gateway to a more national and wider political participation. We
should work from the bottomup, not the topdown. Meanwhile the royal committee
tweaked a failing institution while Parliament recycled a local governance law
that serves to further alienate an already disconnected and disenfranchised
youth.
Town hall meetings, public forums, and community-based
elections can be more effective than national dialogues and traveling ministers
like we have seen in “national dialogues” before. It is easier to hold your
neighbor accountable for community issues that an authority you hear from once
or twice on social media.
We Jordanians have not withdrawn from governance; we have
used governance by other means. Citizens need local level services and representation
if engagement is to be fostered, trust in formal institutions is to be earned,
and governance through government processes is to be instated.
The writer is an independent researcher and analyst based in
Amman.
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