Arab Migrant Communities in the GCC

Abstract

This volume provides a series of empirically dense analyses of the historical and contemporary dynamics of Arab intra-regional migration to the monarchies of the Persian Gulf, and unravels the ways in which particular social and cultural practices of Arab migrants interact with the host states. Among other things, specific contributions allow us to consider the socioeconomic and political factors that have historically shaped the character of the Arab migratory experience, the sorts of work opportunities that Arab migrants have sought in the region, what their work conditions and lived experiences have been, and whether we are able to discern any patterns of sociocultural integration for Arab non-nationals. Together, the contributions in this volume help unpick assumptions about the Gulf’s exceptionalism insofar as the study of global migration is concerned. Broader dynamics that undergird the causes, processes, and consequences of migration elsewhere in the world are at work in the Gulf region. Vast economic disparities, chronic political instability, linguistic and cultural affinities, and a jealous guarding of finite economic and citizenship benefits inform push and pull factors and integration possibilities in the Gulf region as they do elsewhere in the world. Recent scholarship continues to enrich our understanding of the phenomenon of labor migration to the Gulf. This book takes that understanding one step further, shedding light on one specific, and up until now largely understudied, community of migrants in the region.