Diasporas in the GCC states: fertile grounds for research

Abstract

“Immigrant” or “diasporic” communities have been, and continue to be, a source of interest and sometimes concern on the social, academic, and political levels. When talking about immigration, relocation, or movement of individuals from one country to another, one automatically thinks of individuals moving from poor, underdeveloped countries, such as some of those found in the Middle East and North Africa, to the developed industrialized nations of the West. In today’s globalized world, relocation has become the dominant trend and the developed western countries are no longer the only major destinations to immigrate to. We now see a trend of relocation of individuals, even from the West, moving to the Middle East, particularly to the oil-rich Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries that are gaining a foothold in the world arena. Many individuals from around the globe are making this part of the world a second home. In these countries the expatriates, many of whom have been living here for decades, make up the majority of the population. They are a dynamic force whose experiences, perceptions, and voices, are to a great extent, missing in today’s academic scholarship. This paper looks at the changing concept of what is known as diaspora, the presence of diasporas in the GCC states, and calls for research that examines the wealth of experiences and insights of the members of these diasporic communities.