Description
Book SynopsisUnderstanding why low-skilled workers in developing countries migrated to Iraq to support the US War on Terror.
Trade Review"This book will no doubt stimulate further sociological research in many ways. It is elegantly composed, informatively written, and carefully argued. Moreover, Thomas cautiously and courageously addresses both urgent social issues and the previous research used in the analysis." American Journal of Sociology
“Through a meticulous and cohesive mixture of migrants’ perspectives, empirical evidence, theoretical grounding, and policy recommendations, Contract Workers, Risk, and the War in Iraq presents a thoughtful discussion on labor migration that adds tremendously to the fields of public policy, political science, international relations, and African studies.” Abdul Karim Bangura, American University
"Throughout his text, Thomas skillfully weaves together a myriad of methodologies and ideologies from disparate disciplines to critically analyze the contemporary phenomenon of Sierra Leonean labor migration to a conflict zone. Perhaps most significantly, Thomas's study bears the question of the role and responsibility of the American military in developing and enforcing policies for the fair recruitment, treatment, and protection of laborers, particularly in high-risk situations, where it is increasingly employing migratory contract workers. The contemporary cost of waging war needs to better account for the assumption of risk by migrant laborers, who increasingly find themselves employed in places where few others dare to go." H-War
"Contract Workers, Risk, and the War in Iraq is a significant contribution to scholarship on military contracting and raises important questions about high-risk migration into warzones." International Migration Review
"Thomas's exploration of race, in particular in looking at dynamics between African migrants and African-American soldiers, is rich and could be a study in and of itself. The processes and products of return migration that Thomas interrogates, specificall
"Thomas' account of contract workers in Iraq provides detailed and first-hand insights from contract workers on military bases that will help to inform wider sociological work investigating the nature of contract work in the 21st century in all its forms.
