Political turmoil, international relations, and international migration have been inextricably linked in the Middle East for centuries, and notably in recent decades. Yet, rarely has migration been seen as a matter of high politics. This changed dramatically with Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, which generated large and far-reaching population dislocations and highlighted the role of international migration in international relations. Sizable concentrations of migrants in this zone of conflict made them central to stategic calculations by all countries involved. This note argues that, while demographers contributed little to knowledge and policy action during the Gulf crisis, they can enhance future understanding of the links between international migration and international relations by monitoring and more accurately predicting migration flows and ensuring that academic research is "translated" for use by the policy community. -Author

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international relations migration flow political relations Gulf War developing region population migration political conflict Gulf migration Middle East