A "scratch my back and I'll scratch yours" method of governing characterized by centralized control, blurred lines between public office and private gain, and a reliance on personal networks over transparent processes.
"The presidency itself is treated as a business opportunity. It has become corrupt by definition, because its reason for being is to exploit the state for gain; political, personal, and financial. At every turn, it is at war with the rules and institutions that impede rigging, robbing, and gutting the state. However, corruption is patrimonialism’s Achilles’ heel because the public understands it and doesn’t like it. It is not an abstraction like 'democracy' or 'Constitution' or 'rule of law.' It conveys that the government is being run for them, not for you.” -- Jonathan Rauch
Originally coined by Max Weber in Economy and Society, patrimonialism (as well as neopatrimonialism) stands in contrast to rational-legal bureaucracies, and refers to a system of governance where power is concentrated in the hands of a single ruler or a small elite, who treat the state and its resources as their personal domain. In this setup, authority is exercised more through personal loyalty, favoritism, patronage, and family ties than through formal institutions or legal-rational frameworks. It’s less about rules and more about relationships: who you know, who you reward, and who you punish.
Looking at the current Trump presidency, neopatrimonialism can be considered evident because the administration is seemingly prioritizing loyalty over competence by, say, appointing close allies to key roles regardless of qualifications, or using federal resources to benefit supporters rather than the public at large. Think of it like a modern political machine: if the president doles out contracts, pardons, or policy favors to a tight-knit circle based on personal ties rather than merit or law, that’s patrimonialism in action. Historically, this contrasts with the U.S.’s ideal of a bureaucratic, rule-based system, though critics might argue every administration flirts with it to some degree…