MER Article Ladjevardi, Labor Unions and Autocracy in Iran Habib Ladjevardi, Labor Unions and Autocracy in Iran (Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 1985). Over the past few years we have witnessed a welcome development in new books on Iran. Instead of general histories, spanning centuries and big events, a number of books attempt to reconstruct small Afsaneh Najmabadi • 4 min read
MER Article Owen, Migrant Workers in the Gulf Roger Owen, Migrant Workers in the Gulf (London: Minority Rights Group, Report No. 68, 1985). Today, as oil prices plunge, the six million foreign workers in the Gulf are feeling the crunch. Roger Owen's new survey of Gulf migrant workers is especially welcome, for the future of Gulf societies i James Paul • 2 min read
MER Article The Yemenis of the San Joaquin Musa (“Moses”) Saleh laughs now at his expectations as a new immigrant to the United States. “We were fooled,” he says, reflecting on the first morning when he prepared for his new job as an apricot picker in California. “We didn’t know what kind of work our Yemeni friends had been doing here…. I dr Ron Kelley • 15 min read
The Emerging Trade Union Movement in the West Bank The last several months have witnessed an intensive Israeli crackdown against Palestinian political activists in the Occupied Territories. Since the summer, at least 21 Palestinians have been deported, and more than 80 arrested. Although the military authorities have attributed their renewed “iron f Joost Hiltermann • 19 min read
Portraits of Syrian Workers THE DIBS COMPANY WORKERS The United Arab Industrial Company, also known as the Dibs Company after its former owners, is a large textile factory located in a rural area south of Damascus. It was founded in 1955 and nationalized in 1964. In 1980, it had 1,660 employees, nearly 200 of whom were admini Elisabeth Longuenesse • 6 min read
The Syrian Working Class Today What is the position of the working class in contemporary Syrian society? I posed this question ten years ago and concluded at the time that one could only speak of a “class in formation.” [1] I was criticized then for having even raised such a question. After all, pre-capitalist relations of produc Elisabeth Longuenesse • 18 min read
Labor Movements in Bahrain Labor activism has been a major feature of political life in Bahrain, going back to early industrial activities following the discovery of oil in 1928-1932. [1] These early efforts absorbed many destitute pearl divers, peasants and freed slaves, and paved the way for a new stratum of middlemen from 'Abd al-Hadi Khalaf • 18 min read
Migrant Labor and the Politics of Development in Bahrain Bahrain was, after Iran and Iraq, the first country in the Gulf to have its petroleum resources developed by Western companies. It has a longer history of economic and infrastructural development than any other state in the peninsula. Bahrain’s petroleum reserves and producing capacity are also the Rob Franklin • 24 min read
Molyneux, State Policies and the Position of Women Workers in the PDRY Maxine Molyneux, State Policies and the Position of Women Workers in the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen, 1966-1977 (Geneva: International Labor Office, 1982). Joel Beinin • 2 min read
MER Article Trade Unions and Moroccan Politics Morocco is unusual in the Middle East for its extensive civil society -- social institutions which are relatively independent of control by the state apparatus. A complex relationship exists between the absolute and repressive monarchy of King Hassan II on the one hand and the powerful opposition in Jean-François Clement, James Paul • 18 min read
MER Article Women and Labor Migration Women are now the heads of between 25 and 35 percent of all households in developing countries. [1] In the Middle East and North Africa, women head about 16 percent of all households. [2] One main reason for the increasing number of households headed by women is male migration to seek work outside t Fatma Khafagy • 13 min read
MER Article Yemeni Workers Abroad In Yemen one often hears the hypothesis that as men migrate abroad in search of work, women move into male economic and political roles, at least within the household. The assumption is that women take over production tasks and decisionmaking which have always been the responsibility of men. While t Cynthia Myntti • 16 min read
