Talk:Wasta

This article is racist and essentialist. "Wasta" is just the arabic word for "influence" of the sort that is used in all societies and cultures, including routinely in the US.

The question is whether wasta has a specific meaning in English identifying a discrete concept. In the same way that vendetta historically reffered, in English, to a particular type of feuding native to Sicily. The word wasta may mean "influence" in Arabic, but if it does identify a discrete concept in English, it could be worth an article. If you find it to be racist/Orientalist/exceptionalist, what changes do you think would give it a more neutral tone? Oh, and please recall to sign your posts with the ~~~~. You bring up some good points and I for one would like to here more of your suggestions. MatthewVanitas (talk) 00:48, 13 August 2009 (UTC)

The concern about this article being essentialist or orientalist is valid, and I think the wording could be refined to present a more neutral perspective. The concept of influence and nepotism exists worldwide, yet the article presents wasta as if it is uniquely prevalent or problematic in Middle Eastern societies. This risks reinforcing stereotypes rather than providing an objective analysis.

For instance, the phrase “one can often find a workforce made up of friends and relatives who may or may not be qualified” makes a broad generalization that could apply to many cultures but is presented as an intrinsic issue of the Middle East. Additionally, saying "wasta still exists" implies that it is something that should disappear, rather than simply describing its role in the social and professional landscape.

A more neutral framing could compare wasta to similar concepts elsewhere, such as the "old boys’ network" in the UK or the role of legacy admissions in the US. If wasta is being discussed as a specific cultural phenomenon, the article should focus on what makes it distinctive rather than imply it is an exceptional or uniquely problematic practice.

Would it be possible to adjust the language to avoid sweeping statements and make it clear that influence-based hiring and networking exist globally? That way, the article can be informative without reinforcing negative stereotypes.

—~~~~ Hussainjee (talk) 19:29, 5 March 2025 (UTC)

External links modified

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External links modified

Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just added archive links to one external link on Wasta. Please take a moment to review my edit. If necessary, add {{cbignore}} after the link to keep me from modifying it. Alternatively, you can add {{nobots|deny=InternetArchiveBot}} to keep me off the page altogether. I made the following changes:

• Added archive {newarchive} to http://www.aqoul.com/archives/2005/07/the_wonders_of.php

When you have finished reviewing my changes, please set the checked parameter below to true or failed to let others know (documentation at {{Sourcecheck}}).

This message was posted before February 2018. After February 2018, "External links modified" talk page sections are no longer generated or monitored by InternetArchiveBot. No special action is required regarding these talk page notices, other than regular verification using the archive tool instructions below. Editors have permission to delete these "External links modified" talk page sections if they want to de-clutter talk pages, but see the RfC before doing mass systematic removals. This message is updated dynamically through the template {{source check}} (last update: 5 June 2024).

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Cheers.—^{cyberbot II}_{Talk to my owner:Online} 20:20, 23 March 2016 (UTC)

Proposed enhancement

The Spanish wiki Wasta article includes some further discussion and information re the concept of wasta. May be someone would consider taking some material from there to improve the english version ? Regards --Uruk (talk) 11:41, 7 May 2016 (UTC)

Stupid copies

I was searching the web for mentions of pidi padu, mentioned here as the approximate Malayalam equivalent of wasta. It's amazing (but not surprising) how many external pages on Wasta, South Dakota include cut&pasted text from this article. --Thnidu (talk) 20:46, 13 May 2016 (UTC)