States of subsistence : the politics of bread in contemporary Jordan / José Ciro Martínez.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Martínez, José Ciro, author.

Series:

Stanford studies in Middle Eastern and Islamic societies and cultures

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Bread industry--Political aspects--Jordan.

Bread industry.

Bread industry--Subsidies--Jordan.

Bread--Government policy--Jordan.

Bread.

Public welfare--Jordan.

Public welfare.

Jordan--Politics and government.

Jordan.

Bread--Government policy.

Politics and government.

Physical Description:

xvii, 331 pages, 10 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 23 cm.

Place of Publication:

Stanford, California : Stanford University Press, [2022]

Summary:

"On any given day in Jordan, more than nine million residents eat approximately ten million loaves of khubz 'arabi--the slightly leavened flatbread known to many as pita. Some rely on this bread to avoid starvation, for others it is a customary pleasure. Yet despite its ubiquity in accounts of Middle East politics and society, rarely do we consider how bread is prepared, consumed, discussed, and circulated-and what this all represents. With this book, José Ciro Martínez examines khubz 'arabi to unpack the effects of the welfare program that ensures its widespread availability. Drawing on more than a year working as a baker in Amman, Martínez probes the practices that underpin subsidized bread. Following bakers and bureaucrats, he offers an immersive examination of social welfare provision. Martínez argues that the state is best understood as the product of routine practices and actions, through which it becomes a stable truth in the lives of citizens. "Performing the State" not only describes logics of rule in contemporary Jordan--and the place of bread within them--but also unpacks how the state endures through forms, sensations, and practices amidst the seemingly unglamorous and unspectacular day-to-day"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

A new style of administration

Sensing the state

Statecraft

Echoes, absences, and reach

Tactics at the bakery

Leavened apprehensions.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 289-323) and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Martínez, José Ciro. States of subsistence.

ISBN:

9781503630369

1503630366

9781503631328

150363132X

OCLC:

1267403921