Dr. André Beckershoff
Name: | André Beckershoff 貝安德 | ![]() |
Email-Address: | andre.beckershoff[at]ercct.uni-tuebingen.de | |
Project Title: | Intimacy in the Shadow of the Silicon Shield | |
Ph.D. project title: | Contesting Hegemony: Social forces in the Re-Making of Cross-Strait relations | |
Phone: | +49 (07071) 29 72744 | |
Room: | 134 |
Biography
André Beckershoff is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the European Research Center on Contemporary Taiwan at the University of Tübingen, Germany. His research focuses on political economy, social movements, migration, and labor, with a regional emphasis on Taiwan. He studied Political Science in Münster, Germany, and Toulouse, France, and received his PhD from the University of Tübingen. In 2011/2012, he was a Visiting Research Fellow at National Chengchi University in Taipei, and he conducted further fieldwork in Taiwan in 2014.
André is the author of Social Forces in the Re-Making of Cross-Strait Relations: Hegemony and Social Movements in Taiwan (Routledge, 2023) and has published numerous articles and book chapters on the political economy of Taiwan and its social movements. He also co-edited the volume Assessing the Presidency of Ma Ying-jiu in Taiwan (Routledge, 2018). His current research, part of the project Intimacy-Mobility-State Nexus in the Context of Democratic and Authoritarian States: A Case Study of China and Taiwan, examines the role of migrant labor in Taiwan’s semiconductor industry. This collaborative project, led by Principal Investigator Tseng Yu-chin and funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research of Germany (BMBF) and the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Science as part of the Excellence Strategy of the German Federal and State Governments, focuses on the intersections of intimacy, mobility, and the state.
Current Research Project
Intimacy in the Shadow of the Silicon Shield explores the role of migrant workers in Taiwan’s electronics industry through the lens of the dormitory labor regime. This research is a sub-project of the broader initiative Intimacy-Mobility-State Nexus in the Context of Democratic and Authoritarian States: A Case Study of China and Taiwan, funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research of Germany (BMBF) and the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Science as part of the Excellence Strategy of the German Federal and State Governments. Led by Principal Investigator Tseng Yu-chin, the project investigates how intimacy and mobility are regulated and contested in differing political systems.
Focusing on the lived experiences of migrant workers in employer-provided dormitories, this sub-project examines how these spaces function as both sites of labor control and as arenas where intimacy is negotiated and alienation is intensified and contested. On-site dormitories, as spatial extensions of the workplace, blur the boundaries between living and working, shaping the social reproduction and intimate practices of migrant workers. Drawing on political economy and migration studies, the research highlights how the enforced proximity of shared living arrangements fosters "involuntary intimacies" that mediate relationships between workers, employers, and the state. At the same time, the rigid structures of the dormitory regime alienate workers from their personal lives, family connections, and opportunities for solidarity. Through qualitative fieldwork, the project interrogates how dormitory life impacts workers’ autonomy, agency, and collective organization, situating these dynamics within Taiwan’s broader political economy and its role in global semiconductor production.
By emphasizing the intersecting roles of (im)mobility, intimacy, and alienation, the research reveals how the Taiwanese state and the semiconductor industry rely on the dormitory labor regime to manage and control migrant labor. Ultimately, the project contributes to broader debates on labor regimes, state power, and the human costs underpinning the global supply chains of high-tech industries.
Publications
Monographs
- Social Forces in the Re-Making of Cross-Strait Relations. Hegemony and Social Movements in Taiwan. 2023. London and New York: Routledge. LINK (https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003395546)
Edited Volumes
- Assessing the Presidency of Ma Ying-jiu in Taiwan. Hopeful Beginning, Hopeless End? (with Gunter Schubert) 2018. London and New York: Routledge. LINK (https://doi.org/10.4324/9781351045117)
Peer Reviewed Articles
- "The KMT-CCP Forum: Securing Consent for Cross-Strait Rapprochement." In: Journal of Current Chinese Affairs, Vol. 43, No. 1, 2014, pp 213-241. (FULL TEXT)
- "Seizing the Transnational – Ideology, Hegemony, and the Doubling of China-Taiwan Relations." In: Spectrum - Journal of Global Studies, Vol. 6, No. 1, 2014, pp 1-21. (FULL TEXT)
Book Chapters
- „Pierre Bourdieu and the Godfather. An Analysis of Symbolic Power You Can’t Refuse“. In: The Interplay between Political Theory and Movies. Bridging two Worlds. Ed. by Ulrich Hamenstädt. 2019. Wiesbaden: Springer, 17-31. LINK (https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-90731-4_2)
- „The Political Economy of the Cross-Strait Rapprochement. Anatomy of a Hegemonic Project“. In: Assessing the Presidency of Ma Ying-jiu. Hopeful Beginning, Hopeless End? Ed. by André Beckershoff and Gunter Schubert. 2018. London und New York: Routledge, 224-246. LINK (https://doi.org/10.4324/9781351045117-11)
- „Mapping the Ma Ying-jiu Era“ (with Gunter Schubert). In: Assessing the Presidency of Ma Ying-jiu. Hopeful Beginning, Hopeless End? Ed. by André Beckershoff and Gunter Schubert. 2018. London und New York: Routledge, 1-14. LINK (https://doi.org/10.4324/9781351045117-1)
- "The Sunflower Movement. Origins, structures, and strategies of Taiwan's resistance against the 'Black Box'." In: Taiwan's Social Movements Under Ma Ying-jeou. From the Wild Strawberries to the Sunflowers, Ed. by Dafydd Fell. 2017. London: Routledge. pp 113-133. (LINK)
- "Bourdieu und die Mafia: Die Transformation des Michael Corleone" In: Politische Theorie im Film, Ed. by Ulrich Hamenstädt. 2016. Wiebaden: VS Springer. pp 19-37. (LINK)
Conference Papers
- (2016) “Pierre Bourdieu and the Godfather: An Analysis of Power you can't refuse." Paper prepared for the ECPR General Conference organised by the European Consortium on Political Research (ECPR). Prague, 7–10 September.
- (2016) “Beyond Counter-Hegemony. A Praxeological Approach to Hegemonic Contestation." Paper prepared for the ‘Nachwuchstagung IPÖ’ organised by the Arbeitskreis Internationale Politische Ökonomie (Deutsche Vereinigung für Politische Wissenschaft). Kassel, 19–20 May.
- (2015) “The Political Economy of the Cross-Strait Rapprochement. Anatomy of a Hegemonic Project." Paper prepared for the joint workshop by the ERCCT (Tübingen) and the China Policy Institute (Nottingham). Tübingen, 12-13 December 2015.
- (2014) “Resisting the 'Black Box': Taiwan's Sunflower Movement and the re-politicisation of the Cross-Strait Rapprochement." Paper prepared for the Joint International Conference by the Research Network "Governance in China" and the Association for Social Science Research on China (ASC). Berlin, 21-22 November 2014.
- (2013) “Hegemony, Symbolic Power, and Governmentality – Critical approaches to the study of cross-Strait integration.” Paper presented at the Workshop "Cross-Strait Relations in an Era of Technological Change: Security, Economic and Cultural Dimensions". St Antony's College, University of Oxford, UK, 5 March 2013.
- (2012) “Seizing the Transnational: A Neo-Gramscian Analysis of the Hegemonic Project Across the Taiwan Strait.” Paper presented at the First Spectrum Conference on Global Studies. METU, Ankara, Turkey, 2–3 November 2012.
- (2012) “The Transnationalization of the Taiwan Strait – Social Forces in the Re-Making of Cross-Strait Relations.” Paper presented at the ERCCT Young Scholars Workshop. Blaubeuren and Tübingen, June 26 – July 1 2012.
- (2011) "Sovereignty: Taking the Relations in International Relations Seriously." Paper presented at the 52nd annual meeting of the International Studies Association. Montreal, 16– 19 March 2011.
- (2010) "Sovereignty in Conflict: Practicing Difference within the Westphalian Order." Paper presented at the 2nd Annual Graduate Conference of the Cluster of Excellence “The Formation of Normative Orders”. Frankfurt, 3–5 December 2010.
- (2010) "Die narrative Konstruktion internationaler Politik: Die Dynamik der Identität Taiwans unter Berücksichtigung des Rüstungswettlaufs mit China." Paper presented at the 9th Graduate Conference of the Section "International Politics" of the German Political Science Association (Deutsche Vereinigung Politische Wissenschaft). Arnoldshain, 28–30 May 2010.
Invited Talks
- (2024) "The Dialectics of Hegemony and Resistance in the Re-Making of China–Taiwan Relations." Book talk at the Department of Political Science, University of Tübingen, Germany. 31 January 2024.
- (2023) "Social Forces in the Re-Making of Cross-Strait Relations. Hegemony and Social Movements in Taiwan." Book talk at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London, United Kingdom. 8 December 2023.
- (2017) "Social Forces in the Re-Making of Cross-Strait Relations. Capitalist Development and Hegemonic Contestation in Taiwan." Lecture in the ‘Spotlight on Taiwan Studies Research’ series at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London, United Kingdom. 22 September 2017.
- (2015) "Zivilgesellschaft in Taiwan und Hongkong: Interaktionen mit der Volksrepublik China" Roundtable during the conference "Civil Society in Taiwan and Hong Kong - Looking back and Reaching out", co-organised by the Department of Chinese Studies at the University of Zurich and the Taiwanese Studies Program of the China Policy Institute at the University of Nottingham. University of Zürich, 8 June 2015.
- (2014) "Bourdieu und die Mafia: Die Transformation des Michael Corleone in 'Der Pate'." Talk organised by POLIS for the series "Politik ist überall" at the Dept. of Political Science, University of Tübingen. 5 June 2014.
- (2012) "Status Quo Vadis? The Symbolic Economy of Cross-Strait Relations." Presented at the conference "Reframing the ROC – History, Politics, Constitutionalism & Political Symbolism in the Reconceptualization of the Republic & Cross-Straits Relations." Hsinchu, Taiwan, 6–7 January 2012.
- (2011) "The Changing Logic of Cross-Strait Relations: A Field Approach to the Political Economy of the Taiwan Strait." Public lecture at the Department of Political Science, National Chengchi University, Taipei, Taiwan, 21 September 2011.
Areas of Interest and Research
- International Political Economy
- International Political Sociology
- Social Movements
- Cross-Strait Relations
- Historical Materialism and Critical Theory
Teaching
- Political Systems of Greater China (2013)
- Introductory Seminar on Greater China (2010/2011)
Memberships
- International Studies Association (ISA)
- European Association of Taiwan Studies (EATS)
- Deutsche Vereinigung für Politikwissenschaft (DVPW)
- German Association for Asian Studies (DGA)