Taking the country cases of Morocco, Tunisia, Lebanon, and Jordan, this work explores the relationship between the governments of the sending states, the out movement of their citizens, and the communities of expatriates that have developed. By focusing on the evolution of government institutions charged with various aspects of expatriate affairs, this work breaks new ground in explaining the changing nature of the relationship between expatriates and their home state. Far from suggesting that the state is waning in importance, the conclusions indicate that this relationship provides evidence both of state resilience and of new trends in the practice of sovereignty.