Gendered state assemblages and temporary labor migration: The case of Sri Lanka

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapter (Book)Researchpeer-review

Abstract

This chapter draws on “assemblage thinking” to understand how the
gendered state relates in seemingly contradictory ways to its citizens
going overseas as temporary labor migrants. Using Sri Lanka as an
illustrative case, the chapter presents the argument that there are
three distinct but interrelated gendered state assemblages: regulatory
gendered state assemblages, protective gendered state assemblages,
and brokerage gendered state assemblages. Thus, migration flows are
sustained while acknowledging and attempting to address gendered
harm. The particular configuration of power relations within the
constitutive elements of the assemblage helps to produce the gendered
state, which, in turn, produces and reproduces gender.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationRevisiting Gendered States
Subtitle of host publicationFeminist Imaginings of the State in International Relations
Place of PublicationNew York USA
PublisherOxford University Press
Chapter6
Pages85-101
Number of pages16
ISBN (Electronic)9780190644062
ISBN (Print)9780190644031
Publication statusPublished - 2018

Keywords

  • assemblage
  • migration
  • labor
  • Sri Lanka
  • development

Cite this