Gérer les migrations, gérer les migrants: une perspective historique et transnationale sur les migrations dans les monarchies du Golfe

Abstract

Cet article explore la gestion des migrations dans les monarchies du Golfe depuis les années 1930. Il décrit les dynamiques d’importation de main d’œuvre et les politiques d’immigration en soulignant la nature hybride et transnationale de la gestion des migrations. Les flux migratoires et les vies des migrants sont en effet structurés par les acteurs et des institutions publiques et privées qui opèrent entre les pays d’origine et d’accueil des migrants. Le transnational dans cet article est entendu au sens de la politique transnationale des migrations et non au sens du transnationalisme des migrants. L’article décrit donc les stratégies politiques des États à l’échelle nationale et internationale (diplomatique) ainsi que l’ensemble des acteurs privés, notamment les entreprises pétrolières qui ont contribué à structurer à la fois les flux migratoires et la vie des migrants dans les monarchies du Golfe au cours du xxe siècle. À partir de cette description, on se propose de conceptualiser la gestion des migrations comme relevant d’un transnationalisme illibéral.

Political economy of immigration policy in GCC countries

“…Such logic of interdependence between groups sharing the same objective goes back to Yandle's theory of “Bootleggers and Baptists” and it drives our main theoretical result whereby the level of immigration control is lower than its socially optimal value. This result seems particularly insightful to depict the failure of the Kafala reforms implemented during the 2000s and beyond in GCC countries, as well as their inability to curb large‐scale migrations (Thiollet, 2016). Indeed, it captures a paradox whereby the feeling of being outnumbered by foreigners exhibiting different cultures and traditions on the part of natives and the ruling class population, has not been consistent with policy reality.…”

“…Overall, scholars have argued that the management of transnational migration in the GCC can be characterized by a loose control of flows leading to rising net migration rate since the 1950s, despite the successive attempts to reform the sponsorship system (Thiollet, 2016). In spite of legal and political framework clearly designed to prevent the long-term settlement of foreigners and banning them from formal citizenship rights or permanent residency, migrant "communities" have emerged in the GCC.…”

“…These communities have been progressively constructed as a “security threat” to the national identity of Gulf countries by public discourse (Longva, 2005). The demographic imbalance and the dependence on foreign labor have become a key issue in the GCC public debates (Thiollet, 2016).…”

“…Most GCC countries started to become more restrictive in their approach to immigration, especially paying more attention to ethnic and religious issues. This increased sensitivity to the presence of very large foreign communities in the region was exacerbated by the fact that the majority of immigrant workers were from other Arab countries such as Egypt, Yemen, and Palestine (Thiollet, 2016). Thus, formal policies became more and more restrictive.…”

“…However, the Kafala and its reforms during the 2000s has not managed to deliver its primary objective, namely, rotation of a flexible labor force and the control of large‐scale migrations to the GCC economies (Baldwin‐Edwards, 2011; Thiollet, 2016). Hence, understanding the drivers of immigration policy in the GCC countries by taking into account the cultural threat posed by migrants to native populations on the one hand, and the rentier state characteristics of GCC countries on the other hand, constitutes the first motivation of this paper.…”