ISIS and the Absurdity of War in the Age of Twitter
Jessica Proett reviews Salar Abdoh's empirical novel set during the days when ISIS was running loose across Iraq and Syria.
The Imagination Interviews
World Picks: July 2021
Travel the world, meet people, see great places, without ever leaving the comfort of your screen…well, in some cases you can go in person!
A New Book on Music, Palestine-Israel & the “Three State Solution”
TMR reviews a new book on Palestinian and Israeli musicians looks at the border zones and interstices of the conflict.
Q & A with Nili Belkind on “Music in Conflict” in Palestine-Israel
Musician and Middle East historian Mark LeVine interviews ethnomusicologist Nili Belkind on her new book profiling Palestinian and Israeli musicians.
Why “Wasta” When Nepotism & Corruption are Equally Rife in the West?
Our editorial outlines the fact that wasta isn't exclusively an Arab problem, but one that plagues societies east and west.
Syria’s Ruling Elite— A Master Class in Wasta
Lawrence Joffe on how the al-Assad and Makhlouf families have mastered the art of control and corruption in a country decimated by a decade of war.
Lebanese Oppose Corruption with a Game of Wasta
Victoria Schneider reports from Beirut on the new Wasta board game that satirizes corruption in Lebanon.
Vitamin W: The Power of Wasta Squared
In which C.S. Layla, the American daughter of a Jordanian professor, remembers life and wasta in the old country.
I Love Wasta, Hate Standing in Line in Egypt, But I Am Poor
After surviving an Egyptian prison and obtaining asylum in the United States, Ahmed Naji contemplates wasta and standing in line.
Lebanon’s Wasta Has Contributed to the Country’s Collapse
Novelist Samir El-Youssef recalls adolescent challenges and more recent experience where wasta was a necessity.
Wasta Tawla, or how the Wastafarians Fared at Fawda
Bethlehem chef Fadi Kattan recalls the disaster of wasta leading up to Christmas Eve at Fawda restaurant.
“Pakistani Bureaucrats & The Booze Permit”—a story by Tariq Mehmood
Novelist and filmmaker Tariq Mehmood weaves a tale of wasta, women and booze in Rawalpindi.
Wasta on Steroids: Speculative Finance & the Housing Market
Mischa Geracoulis discovers the film Push and explores the incredible greed and inequity of the speculative housing market.
The Diplomats’ Quarter: Wasta of the Palestinian Authority
Author and attorney Raja Shehadeh recounts the legend of Ramallah's ritzy neighborhood, designed for heroes of the Palestinian Authority.
In Tunisia, Wasta Kills When It Comes to Covid-19
Our correspondent in Tunis, Emna Mizouni, reports on the vaccination crisis exacerbated by wasta.