It is a well known adage that social connections are the lubricants for the bureaucratic machineries in place throughout the Middle East. In most Arabic speaking countries, with the exception of some North African locales, the entire process of making a desired administrative result come to fruition with the use of intermediaries is encompassed by a single word: wasta. In fact, in some organizational milieus, wasta is so endemic that it can almost be thought of as the currency of procedural outcomes, as its presence or absence can far outweigh other factors. From a theoretical standpoint, it is not too difficult to align wasta with Pierre Bourdieu's conceptions about social capital, in that both are a type of tender embedded in networks of relationships. Moreover, wasta, like social capital, can be accumulated, saved, transferred, and exchanged for other kinds of assets, while at the same time holding an indeterminate and undefined value. Still, despite a worth that is largely indefinite and entirely negotiable, wasta is calculable as a reliable measure of social closeness or distance; it is extended to some and withheld from others. In Kuwait, however, the durability of wasta as a form of interactional capital is being increasingly challenged by more immediate, instantaneous modes of transactions. In other words, wasta is sometimes pushed aside in preference for more market oriented swaps: cash for favors or services rendered. Along these lines, graft, bribery, and vote buying are all unmistakable instances that deviate from the supposed desirability of the social bonds that underwrite wasta affiliations because money, unlike wasta, is easily reckoned and quickly traded. Yet, wasta and outright payments are significant variants because they are messages that are less about the objects of the trades – be it votes, licenses, or permits – and more about the nature of the social bonds involved in the dealings. The purpose of this paper is to examine the statements that are being made about sociability in Kuwait when wasta and its monetized alternatives are offered or used. This presentation will be primarily based on the author's own ethnographic research conducted in Kuwait, although it will also draw upon comparative data taken from across the region.