Starting from the observation that administrations in the Arab world are ubiquitous and yet little studied, this article argues that they should be (re) made an object and a subject of research in their own right. After showing that Arab administrations have been objects of historical research and discussing some of the methodological issues involved in their construction as objects of political investigation, two main avenues of research are proposed, based on examples drawn from two ongoing surveys, one on hospital administration in Morocco and the other on social housing in Algeria. The first approach is “materialist” and invites us to investigate the materiality of administrations and spatial configurations. The second focuses on enunciation and seeks to shed light on the factors behind ordinary criticism by taking an interest in what is said around and to street-level bureaucrats and what this produces in terms of interpretations and judgments about relations with the state.