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Migration as Diplomacy: Labor Migrants, Refugees, and Arab Regional Politics in the Oil-Rich Countries

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  • Thiollet, Helene

Abstract

This article explores the political dynamics of labor migration in the Middle East. It seeks to explain the politics of Arab population movements by looking at historical trends in regional integration and contends that migration to the oil-rich countries, including refugee flows, has been the key factor driving Arab integration in the absence of effective institutions and economic integration processes. To account for the influence of this largely forgotten factor, the article looks at the formal and informal institutions that have shaped massive labor flows from the 1970s onward. It offers historical evidence pointing to the role of migration in Arab regional integration by looking at free circulation of Eritrean refugees and migrants in the Arab region using oral history and administrative archives. Linking labor migration, refugee movements, and regional politics, the article introduces the concept of “migration diplomacy” as an analytical framework and argues that the politics of regional integration can be better understood when looked at through the lens of migration.

Suggested Citation

  • Thiollet, Helene, 2011. "Migration as Diplomacy: Labor Migrants, Refugees, and Arab Regional Politics in the Oil-Rich Countries," International Labor and Working-Class History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 79(1), pages 103-121, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:ilawch:v:79:y:2011:i:01:p:103-121_00
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    Cited by:

    1. Monica RADU & Dorin DUSCIAC, 2019. "European Diplomatic Action In The Context Of Novel Challenges Related To Global Climate Migrations," EURINT, Centre for European Studies, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, vol. 6, pages 355-372.
    2. Lisa Blaydes, 2023. "Assessing the Labor Conditions of Migrant Domestic Workers in the Arab Gulf States," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 76(4), pages 724-747, August.
    3. Adamson, Fiona, 2019. "The Migration State in the Global South: Nationalizing, Developmental, and Neoliberal Models of Migration Management," SocArXiv wze2p, Center for Open Science.
    4. Tsourapas, Gerasimos, 2019. "Theorizing State-Diaspora Relations in the Middle East: Authoritarian Emigration States in Comparative Perspective," SocArXiv r7e3x, Center for Open Science.
    5. Tsourapas, Gerasimos, 2017. "Migration Diplomacy in the Global South: Cooperation, Coercion and Issue Linkage in Gaddafi’s Libya," SocArXiv aky4j, Center for Open Science.
    6. Tsourapas, Gerasimos, 2018. "Labor Migrants as Political Leverage: Migration Interdependence and Coercion in the Mediterranean," SocArXiv b8eak, Center for Open Science.

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