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

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

It is recommended to specify that the paper is a review of Sayad’s contributions and his perspective on the role of the state in managing recruitment processes and the living conditions of migrant workers. The introduction should clearly state that the text is a theoretical review rather than an empirical study, emphasizing the value of this theoretical contribution. At times, it is unclear what the author's own contribution is beyond Sayad’s framework; this should be explicitly addressed in the text.

Additionally, it is recommended to clarify certain terms that the author assumes are familiar to readers, but which may not be universally understood. This applies to concepts such as State Thought (if linked to state ideology), expulsability, or provisionality. These should be either referenced bibliographically or briefly defined in a footnote.

Publication is recommended provided that the author makes these minor revisions.

Author Response

Comment 1: It is recommended to specify that the paper is a review of Sayad’s contributions and his perspective on the role of the state in managing recruitment processes and the living conditions of migrant workers. The introduction should clearly state that the text is a theoretical review rather than an empirical study, emphasizing the value of this theoretical contribution. At times, it is unclear what the author's own contribution is beyond Sayad’s framework; this should be explicitly addressed in the text.

Response: Thank you, this is key for the article. Lines 51-56 clarify now this approach

Comment 2: Additionally, it is recommended to clarify certain terms that the author assumes are familiar to readers, but which may not be universally understood. This applies to concepts such as State Thought (if linked to state ideology), expulsability, or provisionality. These should be either referenced bibliographically or briefly defined in a footnote.

Response: Thank you, I think State thought is sufficiently explained throughout the text so I have not added anything. Whereas regarding expulsability, although this term was not used in the paper, I have added an explanation when talking about the expellable condition of migrants in lines 104-109. About provisionality, it is true it was assumed but poorly explained, some explanations have been added to lines 136-141 and a reference supporting them

 

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The article is of interest to the journal and certainly publishable. I really appreciated it. The argumentative structure is clear, it is well written and flowing and denotes a deep knowledge of the topic and the state of the art of the debate on temporary migration programmes. The analysis on the topic based on Sayad's thought is original, even if its development is importantly related to the migration experience during the last phase of Fordism. In contrast, temporary migration programmes see renewed promotion during the post-Fordist restructuring phase, as in the case of the agrifood. Therefore, I invite the authors to think about the application of Sayad's thought also considering these processes of transformation, evaluating its capacity or limitations in reading the redefinition of migration and the processes of governance in global coloniality from a historical perspective. It would also be interesting just to note or explore (referring to future in-depth studies) the transformation of state thinking or the challenges to it within the processes of migration governance at a supranational level or facing the power of migrations. The authors may consider whether or not to address these suggestions in the revision of this article, which I nevertheless recommend.

 

Author Response

As the comments of the author were considered not compulsory, it has been decided not to add changes in this direction because including these reflections may expand the focus of the paper too much. I take note of them to work on future papers in this very interesting direction. I also would like to express my gratitude for the overall positive impression of the paper by the reviewer.