Full Spectrum Jordan: Curb-Side Politics

In the early evenings if you take a walk around affluent neighborhoods, such as Abdoun, you will see crowded sidewalks and crowded streets. Young men chatting in groups, huddled around their own shisha and their own Thermoses of tea. They’re priced out of the cafes and restaurants, sitting outside, looking in, absorbing the atmosphere without the possibility of going inside themselves.اضافة اعلان

50 percent youth unemployment over multiple quarters is not an economic downturn. It's not a crisis. It’s a security problem. After several quarters youth are no longer looking at this as a temporary problem but they’re adapting to this as a way of life. They are understanding that their livelihoods have been paused and that it’s not their fault and that they’re locked out of the benefits that the people at the top are enjoying.

This crisis of youth unemployment is not only a security problem. It’s also a social problem. It has divided Jordan. Jordan is a remarkably united country in many ways. But this has created a new generation of people who expect inequality, people who expect Wasta, people who expect to lose in the game of life and are becoming resentful. Those evenings spent sitting on the curb (or ‘kerb’ from you British speakers) have become a curbside society increasingly embittered by their lot in life.. For Jordan, this has created curbside politics.

Three things you should know (or this week, three ‘W’s):
WaithoodDiane Singerman, an American anthropologist, coined a term about Middle Eastern youth - 'Waithood.' Waithood is the unsettling phase obnoxiously jammed between childhood and adulthood, caused by the inability to get a career and facing rising prices, which is especially prevalent among Jordanian youth. Traditionally, becoming an adult in Jordan meant getting a job, marrying, and owning a home. But today, a different story awaits our youth- waiting for employment - a career - that will afford them the opportunity to marry and move forward. Often the best years of their youth are spent looking for work, spending hours online, hanging out with friends and having a very different life path than their parents or grandparents.

The new cybercrime law would potentially result in more disengagement. By limiting the space for expressing grievances, this law risks further alienating our society from the state.

Typically, adulthood began with a job that was more than just work. It meant a role as a provider and homeowner which launched young people into self-reliance. However, a long period of 'Waithood' pulls down Jordan's youth, not just for a period of looking for work but a longer stagnation that impacts the course of their life, and in Jordan, the course of a generation.

With traditional paths to careers and families out of reach, youth disillusionment grows, feeling unfulfilled and sensing societal stagnation. The youth recognize that their parents’ generation had a better social contract and economic situation. But a booming population, rising prices, and a real scarcity of jobs has prevented them from following in their elders’ footsteps. Trapped in a youth that is not moving forward, and looking back at a recent past which seems better, creates a sense of injustice and resentment. Let’s also add the constant carnival of envy which is Instagram, the endless stream of luxury vacations, cars, meals, fashion, by ‘influencers’ who largely show lifestyles that the vast majority cannot afford.

Waithood is changing Jordanian society. Keep in mind that the majority of Jordan is its youth, as are the majority of its voters. The longer it lasts, the more it affects our society and political life.

Wasta
Youth in Jordan have very high, unrealistically high, demands from the social contract, including employment. However, they know there is no easy fix and are resigning themselves to their current fate - and getting angry. This is coupled with a strong feeling of political isolation and lack of representation. If you do not have income, you are an economic burden to your parents, and you believe you have no influence with government decision-makers, how do you get anything done?

We're not at fault, we're locked out of the opportunities that others enjoy.

Among young Jordanians, the acceptance of using wasta to secure "deserved" services is on the rise. This isn't just for small everyday services like skipping a line or getting paperwork through faster; it goes even to the bedrock of governance – the rule of law. At least half of Jordanians entertain the idea that wasta is essential not only to access services but also to access justice. This blurred boundary between personal connections and official legal pathways is very dangerous and undermines the notion of justice as an impartial force. I’ve written about this before, calling it Governance By Other Means.

Like Waithood, widespread acceptance of wasta is not a temporary problem, but changes an entire generation and the way of doing business in Jordan. It means that not only do I have few opportunities, but even if I do get a lucky break I will need personal connections to use it - whether its running as a candidate from Kerak, or opening a business in Zarqa, or getting an edge for a job in Amman. There is a belief among youth that the system is built on wasta.

This stark reality, combined with the already prevalent distrust in elected figures and government institutions, further disconnects Jordanians from the state. It further erodes hope among young Jordanians about their society (even though by using wasta rather than official channels, they themselves are eroding society). This disconnection leaves them vulnerable to fringe figures or groups. As this mindset takes root, where wasta and nepotism seem like the only avenues for progress, it fuels a sense of despair. Consequently, this leads to social unrest.

Political “Welling”(welling is when liquid rises up just before it overflows uncontrollably. Like ‘tears welling in her eyes’)

Over the course of several years, Jordanians, especially the youth, have been losing their trust in formal institutions, some like the judiciary are sliding down, and some like Parliament never had the trust to begin with. Research and data clearly show that the younger generation feels excluded from the centers of power, leaving them with limited ability to influence government decision-making. If we delve deeper, a concerning pattern emerges: Jordanians view protests, demonstrations, civil disobedience, and social media campaigns as their primary tools to sway government decisions. This signals a significant belief that stepping outside the established system is their only feasible route to bring about change. The other outlet is venting in social media, hoping that the government will pay attention to an online outcry.

50 percent youth unemployment over multiple quarters is not an economic downturn. It's not a crisis. It’s a security problem.

The new cybercrime law, which significantly restricts people from voicing their grievances, faces a real dilemma as it puts our society at risk of becoming more fragmented and disengaged from the state. Misinformation, hate speech, and extremism online is a real danger. There is a global trend that isolated, disillusioned youth fall into these virtual traps. Social media could be a dangerous pot of global, regional, and local resentment and conspiracies that drives offline anger. But it can also act as a place for complaints, advocacy, solidarity, and campaigning. It is now subject to stricter regulations under this new law, effectively encroaching upon the last realm of civic involvement and democratic practice for Jordanians.

My TakeIt’s bleak. Youth are not only unemployed and angry, but unemployed for so long it delays their lives, and hitting so many it affects a generation. Without faith in the government and a sense they have influence in government decision-making, they look to ‘other means’ to survive - using the pernicious system of wasta which erodes our system of governance and our economic market.

Youth have unrealistically high demands of the government - including employment and prices. Which means that when they don’t have employment, they believe the state has cheated them out of it - or ignored them and left them out. Either way, it's not bad luck, it’s injustice.

This is a security challenge. All these factors, combined with that sense of injustice results in an entire generation - the majority of our population - on the outside looking in just like those around those cafes in Abdoun. They feel cheated, they see years of their lives wasted, and they blame the government officials who don’t listen to them.

This crisis isn't just about jobs; it's about a generation grappling with the idea that their lifepaths have been put on pause. It says, "We're not at fault, we're locked out of the opportunities that others enjoy." This crisis isn't just about security; it's also about division. It's given rise to a generation that's growing up expecting inequality and nepotism, and it's breeding resentment. Waithood among a growing number of young Jordanians is introducing an identity crisis - they’re unsure of their place in the world, they’re not moving forward and are not transitioning as is expected of them into adulthood. 

Underlying all this is a crisis of trust in our institutions. Jordanians, especially the youth, are feeling disconnected from the systems meant to represent them. Whether elected or appointed, these bodies seem distant and unresponsive to the needs of the people. This disconnection has given birth to what I call "Political Welling." We see young Jordanians turning to protests, civil disobedience, and social media campaigns as their tools for change. It's a pessimistic belief that creating change within the system is a distant dream.

In many ways, the youth are right. It is not their fault they are trapped in waithood. There are global and regional market forces, issues of climate change, regional security threats, the threat of information security, an ongoing refugee crisis, the shift of aid towards Ukraine. In some ways to solve the crisis, Jordan would have to do everything perfectly and still hope the region and globe hold things together.

This crisis isn't just about jobs; it's about a generation grappling with the idea that their lifepaths have been put on pause.

The new cybercrime law would potentially result in more disengagement. By limiting the space for expressing grievances, this law risks further alienating our society from the state. This encroachment on the last space for civic engagement is concerning. When will youth believe that this is a step too far? When will they be tired of sitting on the curb, on the outside looking in?

Waithood, wasta, and welling are all threats. But some progress is possible. It's time for a comprehensive approach. We can grab expectations away from toxic influencers through realistic cultural portrayals. Job skills for youth, or other education possibilities while looking for work, normalizing internships and volunteering as work experience,  dismantling the grip of "Wasta," by prosecuting those officials who accept it, and rebuilding trust in our institutions are the building blocks. Lowering the age of candidacy, restarting political parties, and making Parliament more inclusive are great steps already taken. We must breathe life into our youth's hopes and ambitions, ensuring they don't remain trapped in a cycle of waiting. It's our collective responsibility. Many countries have seen a generation of youth decimated by war. For us, we are looking at a generation quietly ground down by drudgery and hopelessness.

We need to provide “keys” to access power and decision making, we need to leave the digital space as a haven for our youth to engage in peaceful activism.  Because without providing them the keys and by encroaching on their last space - they will break the door to come in.


Katrina Sammour was first published on Full Spectrum Jordan, a weekly newsletter on SubStack. 


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