Invisible Cage

John Chalcraft is Lecturer in the History and Politics of Empire and Imperialism at the London School of Economics and Political Science. He is the author of The Striking Cabbies of Cairo and Other Stories: Crafts and Guilds in Egypt, 1863-1914 (2004).

"This books makes an important contribution to the analysis of Syro-Lebanese relations and is of special interest to students of labor migration, particularly those concerned with issues of 'south-south' patterns of migration and temporary migration with returning cycles." - Thomas Philip (American Historical Review ) "John Chalcraft provides a convincing and multifaceted analysis of this important and ongoing chapter of Mediterranean economic and social history." - Jörg Michael Dostal (The Times Higher Education) "Full of rich analysis, this book succeeds in opening up a Middle Eastern case study to the field of transnational migration and convincingly shows how a labor market can interact with political structures to confine migrant workers within an invisible cage. An ideal angle from which to understand the complexity of Lebanese-Syrian relations." - Elizabeth Picard, Institute for Research and Study on the Arab and Muslim World (France) "The Invisible Cage lucidly deconstructs simple arguments about migration, showing how hegemony operates in a menial labor regime heavily dependent on migrant labor. This book is strong and to the point, and it covers material no other work does." - Ussama Makdisi (Rice University)

• Contents List of Illustrations Acknowledgments Map of Syria and Lebanon Introduction 1 By God, My Brother, Come Back to Us 2 We Were Like Ghosts, Unseen 3 In the Name of the Martyrs 4 Pax Syriana 5 Instability and Exile Conclusion Endnotes Bibliography Index