Houda Asal
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- April 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780252040443
- eISBN:
- 9780252098864
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Illinois Press
- DOI:
- 10.5406/illinois/9780252040443.003.0007
- Subject:
- Sociology, Migration Studies (including Refugee Studies)
This chapter seeks to identify the sources of Arab political mobilizations in Canada from the 1920s through the late 1970s, with particular attention to the influence exercised by states and ...
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This chapter seeks to identify the sources of Arab political mobilizations in Canada from the 1920s through the late 1970s, with particular attention to the influence exercised by states and political controversies emanating from the region of origin. The history of political mobilization of the Arab minority in Canada shows that members of this group primarily organized to reject the racial category in which they were included in the early twentieth century. Populations from the Machrek were considered “Asian,” which greatly restricted their admission into Canada. The strategies they then developed in order to change both the categorization that had a direct impact on their mobility and on their image in society depended not only on their ability to mobilize, but also on how they reclaimed these “racial” and “identity” categories. After 1945, identity continued to mix with politics as organizations of the Arab minority rallied in favor of a transnational “cause.” The Palestinian cause became theirs because they themselves identified as Arabs. In addition to being an interesting case of loyalty that does not directly correspond to national state borders, this form of political mobilization questions the scale of transnational analyses, between the local and the global, when it comes to thinking about the roles of states in history, be it the impact of countries of origin on their diasporas, or that of countries of residence on their minorities.Less
This chapter seeks to identify the sources of Arab political mobilizations in Canada from the 1920s through the late 1970s, with particular attention to the influence exercised by states and political controversies emanating from the region of origin. The history of political mobilization of the Arab minority in Canada shows that members of this group primarily organized to reject the racial category in which they were included in the early twentieth century. Populations from the Machrek were considered “Asian,” which greatly restricted their admission into Canada. The strategies they then developed in order to change both the categorization that had a direct impact on their mobility and on their image in society depended not only on their ability to mobilize, but also on how they reclaimed these “racial” and “identity” categories. After 1945, identity continued to mix with politics as organizations of the Arab minority rallied in favor of a transnational “cause.” The Palestinian cause became theirs because they themselves identified as Arabs. In addition to being an interesting case of loyalty that does not directly correspond to national state borders, this form of political mobilization questions the scale of transnational analyses, between the local and the global, when it comes to thinking about the roles of states in history, be it the impact of countries of origin on their diasporas, or that of countries of residence on their minorities.
Zahra Babar (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- September 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780190608873
- eISBN:
- 9780190848484
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190608873.001.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Migration Studies (including Refugee Studies)
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 ...
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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.Less
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.
