State Thought and Migration: Analysing the Ideological Underpinnings of Temporary Migration Programmes

This paper analyses temporary migration programs (TMPs) as a manifestation of the “State thought” ideology, drawing on Abdelmalek Sayad’s sociological framework. Sayad considers the State central to the migration system, shaping perceptions and practices around migration through its ideological and structural dominance. The paper first explores how the State constructs hegemonic ideologies around migration, emphasising the dichotomy between nationals and non-nationals. TMPs epitomise these ideologies by promoting utilitarian migration systems that maximise economic benefits while minimising social integration. TMPs, such as agricultural guest worker schemes, enforce strict temporality, denying migrants permanence and full participation in host societies. Migrants are treated as disposable labour, restricted by non-transferable permits, and confined to precarious living conditions. The paper highlights the tension between the economic reliance on migrant labour and the State’s exclusionary policies, revealing TMPs as tools for controlling and exploiting migrants while maintaining national homogeneity. Ultimately, TMPs embody the pinnacle of “State thought”, balancing economic utility and sovereignty by perpetuating provisionality, exclusion, and systemic exploitation. The paper concludes by acknowledging migrants’ agency as they navigate and resist the structural constraints of TMPs to pursue personal and collective goals, challenging these programmes’ colonial and utilitarian underpinnings.