Migration et politique au Moyen-Orient

Migration and Politics in the Middle East.FRANCOISE DE BEL-AIR Introduction: migration and politics in the Middle East: populations, territories, citizenships at the dawn of the XXIst century.FRANCOISE DE BEL-AIR ET ARDA DERGARABEDIANGLOBALISATION, INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION AND POLITICS: THE CASE OF QUALIFYING INDUSTRIAL ZONES (QIZS) IN JORDAN.Studies have illustrated the interdependence between migration movements and the far-reaching politico-economic revolution experienced nowadays by most developing countries: a switch from an unproductive to a privatised and liberalised economy, the opening of capital and attraction of FDIs as well as the introduction of productive, export-led and labour-intensive activities, that of the manufacturing industry and, especially, that of the textile and garment sector, for instance. In the context of post-1999' QIZ compounds in Jordan, we show that the implementation of these economic measures, as well as of the political choices underlying them, quasi-structurally depend on the attraction of Asian immigrant manpower. This process allows for Jordan's anchorage into a "de-territorialised" worldwide network of trade, subcontracting as well as manpower import and export, and for the quick implementation of drastic economic measures of liberalisation. However, the Jordanian population, though it suffers from high unemployment rates, does not benefit from the economic and employment reform process, a situation which illustrates the notion of "liberal paradox". Moreover, these reforms avoid the political sphere, as this new class of workers enjoys neither political nor social rights. The "mobility of labour and capital" thus crystallises, on the Jordanian ground, all the political stakes of shifting from a rent-based to a productive economic system, even though it proved one of the instruments of the transition process. KNUT BERGEMTHE ROLE OF THE STATE IN THE IN-MIGRATION OF DOMESTIC WORKERS TO JORDAN AND THE GCC COUNTRIESMore than 2 million Asian women are currently employed as domestic workers in Jordan and the Gulf-countries. The institution of domestic service in these countries has, accordingly, become intimately intertwined with state immigration policies. It has also become part of "internal affairs". The availability of foreign domestic workers can be seen as part of a social contract between the authorities and the middle classes, by which the state provide an easy and comfortable life for their nationals, in exchange for political support. On this background, the article addresses some of the structural problems facing the foreign domestic workers, and takes a critical look at the current immigration- and employment-practises shaping their stay. In significant ways, the article argues, foreign maids are kept out of society by being deprived of basic human rights or proper labour protection. Both the state and national employers benefit from this situation, each in their different ways, as will be shown. Finally, the article discusses possible ways to create a more humane immigration system for foreign domestic workers in the region.JOHN CHALCRAFTSYRIAN WORKERS IN LEBANON AND THE ROLE OF THE STATE. POLITICAL ECONOMY AND POPULAR ASPIRATIONS What role has the state played in the migration to Lebanon and return of hundreds of thousands of unskilled Syrians during the 1990s? A dominant view accredits the Syrian state with enormous power in imposing a 'flood' of Syrian migrants on Lebanon. A less popular 'pro-Syrian' position counters that the division of labour accounts for Syrian migration. Ostensibly, the fact that the migration continued even after Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon in April 2005 vindicates the economic explanation. However, to accept this answer would be to accept uncritically the terms of the debate, efface the importance of state power, and assume too much about the explanatory status of 'the economy'. This chapter goes beyond the terms of the existing controversy, arguing that standing behind the economy we find the state, especially if we extend the chronological perspective, consider policies not usually considered directly relevant to migration, and pay attention to popular aspirations driving migration and return. I argue that state policy is far more important than any economistic reading claims, but its importance is not in 'imposing' workers on Lebanon. In fact, divergent social and economic policies pursued by Syria and Lebanon since the 1960s account for the cycle of Syrian migration and return as much as any purely economic factors. JALAL AL-HUSSEINITHE MANAGEMENT OF THE PALESTINIAN REFUGEE ISSUE IN THE ARAB STATES: IN SEARCH OF AN UNEASY EQUILIBRIUM.The paper deals with the immigration policies that the Arab states neighbouring Israel (Jordan, Lebanon and Syria) have adopted vis-à-vis the Palestinian refugees since 1948. More particularly, it aims at determining how these policies, be they elaborated by the Arab League or by each of the host authorities, have reflected and impacted on the latter's nation building endeavour. We show that far from merely responding to external considerations related to the Arab-Israeli conflict, these policies have been closely linked to country-specific or regional concerns –and dilemmas- regarding the consolidation of national identity, and political, social and financial stability. In so doing, the paper strays from the view widely shared in Israel and the Western world according to which the Arab countries had only been led by a desire to instrumentalize the refugee issue within the framework of future peace negotiations. Whereas this interpretation should not be discarded altogether, the paper argues that it is primarily in the light of a search for an internal equilibrium taking into account the various socioeconomic and political constraints (and opportunities) incurred by the immigration and settlement of the Palestinian refugees in their territory that the policies pursued by these countries should be considered. KAMAL DORAÏ and OLIVIER CLOCHARDNON-PALESTINIAN REFUGEES IN LEBANON. FROM ASYLUM SEEKERS TO ILLEGAL MIGRANTS While nearly 400,000 Palestinian refugees live in Lebanon, this country host non-Palestinian refugees, whose number rises from a few thousands recognised by the UNHCR up to 30,000 or 40,000 according to non-official sources that include many 'irregular' migrants mainly coming from Iraq and Sudan. To some extend, Lebanon is considered as a destination country where refugees can find a temporal asylum before returning to their country of origin. But for many others Lebanon is considered as a transit country towards Western Europe, North America or Australia. What are the different itineraries that exist? Do they rely on transnational networks? What are the bases of these networks? The transit period can last several months and refugees have to adopt coping strategies while their statuses are extremely precarious. What kinds of strategies are developed in different spheres such as accommodation, work, health, education, etc.? Based on empirical data, this paper aims to address the theoretical issue of studying refugee movements in relation with the development of transnational practices in the Middle East.SARI HANAFIPALESTINIAN REFUGEES, CITIZENSHIP AND THE NATION-STATE In the Bethlehem Fatah communiqué, the authors considered the Palestinian state as a substitute for the right of return. But is there a solution that encompasses the right of return and a Palestinian state? The question is not only one of right or the number of eventual returnees or the technical economic and social capacity for absorption, but is also a question of the nature of both the Palestinian and the Israeli nation-states, the concept of state sovereignty and its inherent violence, and the inclusion/exclusion that the state exercises to determine who is a citizen. The objective of this article is to demonstrate that so far, while transnational strategies adopted by refugees/returnees/transmigrants themselves are generally flexible, the policies of the nation-states in the region are inflexible. I will demonstrate also that the current nation-state model which is based on the "trinity" of nation-state-territory is unadapted to proposing a solution for the Palestinian refugees problem and that a new model of nation state must be conceptualized, based on flexible borders, flexible citizenship and some kind of separation between the nation and state, what I will call the extra-territorial nation state. THIBAUT JAULINEMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY: A CASE-STUDY OF LEBANESE-DESCENT' INDIVIDUALSOn what conditions can an American, a Brazilian or an Australian descendant from an emigrant of Lebanese origin obtain the nationality of his country of origin? The attribution of the Lebanese nationality to members of the large Lebanese Diaspora was the subject of very passionate debate, which took place in the context of a reform of the law on nationality and the controversial decree of naturalization in 1994. In this text, I'll show that the political issues raised by the question of the naturalization of the so-called "descendants of Lebanese origin" are intertwined with different aspects of the Lebanese national construction, namely, the demographical balance between the different religious communities, the definition of the national identity, and the juridical principles to grant the nationality.PAUL TABARTHE MARONITE CHURCH IN LEBANON. FROM NATION-BUILDING TO A DIASPORAN/TRANSNATIONAL INSTITUTIONIn this chapter the author examines changes within the Maronite Church, which are transforming it into a nation-building and a diasporan institution. These changes are caused by the growing influence of the Maronite diaspora on the Church and the de-territorialising impact of migration on the Lebanese abroad. In this connection, the Church is best understood as a globalocal institution: on one hand, it restores links of the Maronite diasporan communities to the mother Church in Lebanon, and on the other, it becomes diasporic by developing its institutional presence abroad and responding increasingly to the needs of the Maronite diaspora in various parts of the world. The Maronite Patriarchal Council that was held in Lebanon between 2003-2004, and the Maronite Church in Australia are examined to substantiate the above claims.