ABSTRACT
In examining what Covid-19 reveals about state-society relations this chapter explores the relations between governments and migrants, bureaucrats and the precariat. It examines the response of states where a large part of the working class is made up of migrant labor who are from the peripheries, mostly South Asia. As non-citizens, lacking rights reserved for citizens, their condition becomes particularly vulnerable in times of crisis. The global pandemic is an opportunity to examine not only how vulnerable sections of the population are impacted by the crisis but also how governments of countries where they reside respond. How do civil society and international institutions respond? The Gulf States and Singapore provide a vantage point for comparison because both have a large number of migrant workers. The governance of migrant labor in times of crisis reveals deep-seated, institutional and structural relations between states and a vulnerable section of the population.
