At least on first read I didn’t experience any confusion with the co-mingling of Lebanon and Jordan, but when I re-read looking for that specifically there were a few anecdotes I struggled to identify the country for. But I don’t think that is a big issue, especially if you have citations anyone really interested could follow.
One thing I would like to see discussed is to what extent this separation between service provision and perceived legitimacy affects the motivations for donors. If the two went together then donors interested in stability would support the same policies as those interested in service consumption. But if they separate then this doesn’t hold: presumably some donors will want to support e.g. roads, even if they don’t increase stability, while other donors might want to support e.g. clerics who support the divine mandate, even if they don’t provide services.
Incidentally one subject that might be interesting is the extent to which western corporations can be a positive influence. For example I hear that Uber is very successful in Jordan precisely because there is no need for the constant haggling and graft that many interactions require: it is all handled cleanly in the app.
Nice article.
At least on first read I didn’t experience any confusion with the co-mingling of Lebanon and Jordan, but when I re-read looking for that specifically there were a few anecdotes I struggled to identify the country for. But I don’t think that is a big issue, especially if you have citations anyone really interested could follow.
One thing I would like to see discussed is to what extent this separation between service provision and perceived legitimacy affects the motivations for donors. If the two went together then donors interested in stability would support the same policies as those interested in service consumption. But if they separate then this doesn’t hold: presumably some donors will want to support e.g. roads, even if they don’t increase stability, while other donors might want to support e.g. clerics who support the divine mandate, even if they don’t provide services.
Incidentally one subject that might be interesting is the extent to which western corporations can be a positive influence. For example I hear that Uber is very successful in Jordan precisely because there is no need for the constant haggling and graft that many interactions require: it is all handled cleanly in the app.