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Despite such central relevance and contributions, mainstream Gulf migration literature has yet to systematically examine and historicize the complex and multiple institutional and political impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on migration management—both at the domestic and international levels—in the Gulf countries. Using the case of the United Arab Emirates (UAE)—a key node of the regional and global migration system in the Gulf and of the Global South—this chapter examines the host states’ strategic shift in migration management responses to the COVID-19 pandemic both at the domestic and geopolitical levels. It features three-fold arguments: first, despite its state-centric migration management roots, the COVID-19 pandemic has institutionally forced the host states to adopt a decentralized collaborative model of domestic migration management by integrating migrant community organizations into its government crisis approach. Second, the COVID-19 pandemic not only threatened the national interests and capacities of states, but also compelled host states to strategically mobilize a combination of foreign policy coercion and cooperation towards sending states, including those deemed “non-cooperative,” to assert their geopolitical power. Third, the COVID-19 pandemic has also strategically triggered host states to reform their domestic migration management, thus enabling them to effectively position their economic strategies (i.e., more liberalized knowledge-based economy) in a post-COVID-19 pandemic scenario. These strategic responses to the COVID-19 pandemic have not only enabled them to project their global humanitarian image and capacity but also mirror the existing regional power politics and asymmetries between host and sending states in the Global South. Methodologically, I employ semi-structured interviews with state and non-state officials and temporary migrant workers, combined with field observation during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020–2022) in the UAE. I also utilized secondary analysis of local UAE official government policies and newspaper publications to support my empirical findings. Overall, the study contributes to empirical and theoretical discussions on the global politics of migration management by highlighting the role of the global crisis in shaping host states’ domestic and foreign policy responses on migration management during the global COVID-19 pandemic period.

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From Crisis to Gains in the Gulf  ?

  • 章节

  • 发表日期：

    2026年

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  • Froilan T. Malit

摘要

Despite such central relevance and contributions, mainstream Gulf migration literature has yet to systematically examine and historicize the complex and multiple institutional and political impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on migration management—both at the domestic and international levels—in the Gulf countries. Using the case of the United Arab Emirates (UAE)—a key node of the regional and global migration system in the Gulf and of the Global South—this chapter examines the host states’ strategic shift in migration management responses to the COVID-19 pandemic both at the domestic and geopolitical levels. It features three-fold arguments: first, despite its state-centric migration management roots, the COVID-19 pandemic has institutionally forced the host states to adopt a decentralized collaborative model of domestic migration management by integrating migrant community organizations into its government crisis approach. Second, the COVID-19 pandemic not only threatened the national interests and capacities of states, but also compelled host states to strategically mobilize a combination of foreign policy coercion and cooperation towards sending states, including those deemed “non-cooperative,” to assert their geopolitical power. Third, the COVID-19 pandemic has also strategically triggered host states to reform their domestic migration management, thus enabling them to effectively position their economic strategies (i.e., more liberalized knowledge-based economy) in a post-COVID-19 pandemic scenario. These strategic responses to the COVID-19 pandemic have not only enabled them to project their global humanitarian image and capacity but also mirror the existing regional power politics and asymmetries between host and sending states in the Global South. Methodologically, I employ semi-structured interviews with state and non-state officials and temporary migrant workers, combined with field observation during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020–2022) in the UAE. I also utilized secondary analysis of local UAE official government policies and newspaper publications to support my empirical findings. Overall, the study contributes to empirical and theoretical discussions on the global politics of migration management by highlighting the role of the global crisis in shaping host states’ domestic and foreign policy responses on migration management during the global COVID-19 pandemic period.