Migration Intermediation: Revisiting the Kafala (Sponsorship System) in the Gulf
Résumé
This chapter focuses on the well-studied kafala or sponsorship system operating in the Gulf region, which makes it compulsory for every foreigner to be sponsored by a national. Instead of defining the kafala strictly as a state-led migration regulation system underpinning the formal non-integration of immigrants, this chapter analyses it through the conceptual lens of ‘intermediation institutions,’ understood asa broad framework of rules and norms that governs the mobility and integration of human beings across societies. This definition opens up new analytical dimensions, including the roles of various private actors, concepts of formality and informality, and relations between and within societies and across space and time. This chapter therefore unpacks the contradictory, multi-faceted social dynamics embedded in the kafala and demonstrates its ambiguous role in mediating mobility to and integration within the societies in question. Ultimately, it nuances our understanding of public-private dynamics in migration governance, challenging the clear-cut dichotomy between these two types of actors.
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