Representation - imagine a new structure

[Nadine Toukan]

Observations over the last 22 years

• broad evolution of Jordan's population since 1990
• Amman's growth which seems disproportionate to other cities
• lethargic development, or lack of, across towns and cities
• the (close to) absence of civic movements and proactive citizen engagement
• lack of creative industries like cinema and theater where Jordanians of all sorts can gather to laugh, cry, fight, agree, cheer and mourn together over stories made by us that reflect our reality and dreams, and show us the colorful evolution of this country's people, places and issues - from the critical and serious through to the ridiculous
• lack of credible, inclusive screen media for Jordan by Jordan (up until Roya which is just over one year old)
• failure of government and the Royal Court to openly and critically communicate along the process of the work that's been done
• repetitive distorted representation in the structure of our parliament that does not reflect the Jordan we are
• today's frustrations part of which may be confusing mistakes/decisions that did not work out as planned for corruption
• the absence of checks and balances which may have invited abusing the system, callous governance, and rampant corruption in certain projects and positions
• the absence of the taking stock process about what worked, what didn't over the years/milestones, a sincere celebration of successes, and deep open reflection on failures and lessons learned
• Jordan is made up of a wired, connected population (Internet and mobile)

 

Conflict

Given the current thinking and way it continues to be approached, the election law process and whatever we end up drafting may still not work for us. Candidates, the elected, and the process will probably continue to be shrouded by doubt, marginalize the voices of the crowd, and misrepresent us.

 

Thought

• Can we imagine a representation system that is in part elected into the house of reps, and in part crowd sourced? Is there a way to include public debates and voting in a structured way into the representation process so that a percentage of the weight for decisions MPs take includes independent voices from across the country?
• Can we imagine a house of senates that is in part made up of the open engagement of senators with independent voices across the country and a process where such opinions, concerns and choices are an official and integral part of the process?
• Why are we limiting ourselves with tweaking what we have/had? On a blank slate, can we imagine an entirely new structure of representation (something not even based on any of the above) that works for the Jordan of tomorrow?

 

 

Edit/March 31st:
It's 2012 and we continue to hold on to a parliamentary structure that ceased to be effective last century. The beauty of Jordan is that we are not mono-anything. Yet we deny ourselves our multi-everything reality.

• Who speaks for the two hundred thousand Palestinians (non Jordanian citizens) in Jordan?
• Who speaks for the half million Egyptians in Jordan?
• Who speaks for the half million Iraqis in Jordan?
• Who will speak for the quarter million Syrians who will end up in Jordan by the end of this year?

Is it possible for a country to speak of dignity and social cohesion, within itself and with the world, while denying its own social colors?

Related: Why do we need a parliament?

[Deena Dajani]

Might be of interest in analytically exploring 'representation' and the meaning assigned to constituents when "read off" politically rather than "read into" aesthetically. Can we conceive of a politics of representation that does not perform as "knower" and "protector" of the public good? Is the public good really that "readable" (regardless of whether or not the constituents come to believe that it represents their needs for that too might be an effect of representation)? 
 

[Nadine Toukan]

Lots to think about in that doc, Deena. Thanks for sharing it.

"Specifically, I will argue the benefits of refocusing our work on representation around what I call ‘the representative claim’ — seeing representation in terms of claims to be representative by a variety of political actors, rather than (as is normally the case) seeing it as an achieved, or potentially achievable, state of affairs as a result of election. We need to move away from the idea that representation is first and foremost a given, factual product of elections, rather than a precarious and curious sort of claim about a dynamic relationship."