ABSTRACT
The third chapter sheds light on the mechanisms of emigration and diaspora policies in the MENA region by analysing the Egyptian experience. The chapter first focuses on how Egypt progressively included its emigrants in its narrative of national identity in the second half of the 20th century, in particular by changing citizenship and emigration policies. This change was related to Nasser’s policy to increase Egypt’s political and cultural capital by exporting Egyptian schoolteachers to the rest of the region and to the fact that Egyptian emigration to other Arab countries began to be perceived as a major feature of the Egyptian economy. In the second part, Egypt’s modern emigration approach is analysed as changing from ‘diaspora building’ to ‘diaspora integration,’ following the time period after the revolution in 2011. It is argued that this change in policy is linked to the presence of Egypt’s emigrant communities in Western countries and the specific political context of the region, with the Uprising giving rise to a push for more direct political participation for Arab diasporas.
