During the past 15 years, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (hereafter referred to as Jordan) has experienced an increase in poverty, inequality, and unemployment, volatile economic growth and low productivity, a significant increase in nepotism and corruption in public institutions, a rise in the rate of crime and civil violence, and pervasive lack of trust not only between citizens themselves but also between them and their formal institutions. This lack of general trust, ‘a central element of social cohesion, or social capital’ (World Bank 2002a p.iii), is one of the main constraints to sustainable economic growth and development in Jordan. It is also potentially threatening to the country’s social cohesion and political stability.