Exchanging Favours: The Predominance of Casework in Legislators' Behaviour in Jordan and Lebanon

Responsiveness to constituents' demands and needs is considered an essential element of representation. Responsiveness takes several forms – service, allocation (casework), policies, and symbolic responses – and legislators usually respond to constituents using a combination of these means. However, this article discusses a category of Jordanian and Lebanese legislators, called ‘Favours legislators’, who respond to their constituents only through casework. These legislators use all tools available to them (party/parliamentary bloc, bureaucracy, and fellow legislators) to improve their access to services important to successful casework. Favours legislators assume that by providing a successful favour, constituents who received the favour will reciprocate in kind and vote and/or encourage others to vote for them.