From Migrant Workers to Future Immigrants? “Guest-worker” Programs in Contemporary Taiwan and Post-World War II West Germany.

This paper examines the divergence of “guest worker” migration regimes in contemporary Taiwan and postwar West Germany. Both countries sought foreign temporary workers to do “3D” jobs, but their “guest worker” programs followed distinct paths. In West Germany, family migration from Southern Europe and Turkey was allowed, leading numerous migrants to eventually settle. In contrast, Taiwan tightly controlled the stays of Southeast Asian migrants until 2022, when it introduced a limited “long-term retention program” for “middle-skilled” workers. Explanations for regional variations in Western European and East Asian labor migration regimes typically focus on state-supported ethnonationalism and developmental ideologies. In contrast, we propose a multiscalar argument that identifies four socio-spatial factors that contribute to the persistence or transformation of “guest worker” regimes: trajectories of industrial development, demand for female migrant workers, geography and border enforcement, and recruitment infrastructure. We also examine factors related to social space that may affect the future course of Taiwan’s labor migration program, including the spatial allocation of migrant workers, competition with other receiving countries, and the consolidation of migrant communities.