Gulf States Archive

The meeting in the White House last week between the ruler of Kuwait and President Donald Trump set off a flurry of diplomatic activity. For a moment, it appeared as though it might lead to an opening for resolving the three-month-old dispute that has divided U.S. allies in the Persian Gulf, with Qatar on one side and a Saudi-led bloc of four countries on the other. Hopes were dashed, however, when the efforts collapsed into even more bitter acrimony between Saudi Arabia and Qatar. But this time, there was a new twist in the dispute: Some of the invective, though […]

Editor’s note: This article is part of an ongoing WPR series about workers’ rights in various countries around the world. Rich in wealth but scarce in human capital, the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf have relied heavily on migrant laborers for much of the last half century. In recent years, however, social tensions and a severe economic downturn have put pressure on the region’s migrant labor force and caused many workers to be expelled. In an email interview, Karen Young, senior resident scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, explains the policy underpinning migrant labor in the […]