Bludau, Creating a transnational labor chain InterDisciplines 1 (2015) 1 DOI: 10.2390/indi-v6-i1-133 ISSN 2191-6721 Creating a transnational labor chain between Eastern Europe and the Middle East A case study in healthcare 1 Heidi Bludau Introduction With healthcare worker shortages increasing globally, a need for a migra- tory healthcare workforce has arisen (Buchan 2006; Kingma 2006; Ross, Polsky, and Sochalski 2005; Zulauf 2001). Countries such as India and the Philippines have long been involved in this practice and even operate state-run employment services to place nurses in countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and Saudi Arabia. In the last decade, healthcare workers from Central and Eastern Europe have also been recruited for this work, and are increasingly discovering the opportuni- ties available to them as in-demand, mobile professionals. Since 2000, Czech recruiters have created a niche for themselves built upon interdependencies with the clients in their migration chain. This particu- lar chain connects Czech recruiters and healthcare workers and Middle Eastern healthcare facilities. Currently, two Czech firms, Care4U and Nursematch, operate in this chain. 2 1 This paper is part of a larger ethnographic project funded by a Fulbright- Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad grant, as well as small research grants from Indiana University. 2 Care4U and Nursematch are pseudonyms as are the names of all individuals.