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Government wrongdoing or negligence harms people worldwide, but not all victims are equally effective at obtaining redress. In Accidental Activists, Celeste L. Arrington examines the interactive dynamics of the politics of redress to understand why not. Relatively powerless groups like redress claimants depend on support from political elites, active groups in society, the media, experts, lawyers, and the interested public to capture democratic policymakers' attention and sway their decisions. Focusing on when and how such third-party support matters, Arrington finds that elite allies may raise awareness about the victims' cause or sponsor special legislation, but their activities also tend to deter the mobilization of fellow claimants and public sympathy. By contrast, claimants who gain elite allies only after the difficult and potentially risky process of mobilizing societal support tend to achieve more redress, which can include official inquiries, apologies, compensation, and structural reforms.Arrington draws on her extensive fieldwork to illustrate these dynamics through comparisons of the parallel Japanese and South Korean movements of victims of harsh leprosy control policies, blood products tainted by hepatitis C, and North Korean abductions. Her book thereby highlights how citizens in Northeast Asia-a region grappling with how to address Japan's past wrongs-are leveraging similar processes to hold their own governments accountable for more recent harms. Accidental Activists also reveals the growing power of litigation to promote policy change and greater accountability from decision makers.
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Date de parution

01 mars 2016

Nombre de lectures

0

EAN13

9781501703379

Langue

English

Poids de l'ouvrage

2 Mo

ACCIDENTAL ACTIVISTS
Studies of the Weatherhead East Asian Institute, Columbia University
The Studies of the Weatherhead East Asian Institute of Columbia University were inaugurated in 1962 to bring to a wider public the results of significant new research on modern and contemporary East Asia.
ACCIDENTAL ACTIVISTS Victim Movements and Government Accountability in Japan and South Korea
Celeste L. Arrington
CORNELL UNIVERSITY PRESS ITHACA AND LONDON
The Korea Foundation has provided financial assistance for the undertaking of this publication project.
Cornell University Press gratefully acknowledges receipt of a subvention from the Sigur Center for Asian Studies, Elliott School of International Affairs, The George Washington University, which aided in the publication of this book.
Copyright © 2016 by Cornell University
All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or parts thereof, must not be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher. For information, address Cornell University Press, Sage House, 512 East State Street, Ithaca, New York 14850.
First published 2016 by Cornell University Press Printed in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Arrington, Celeste L., 1980– author.  Accidental activists : victim movements and government accountability in Japan and South Korea / Celeste L. Arrington.  pages cm — (Studies of the Weatherhead East Asian Institute, Columbia University)  Includes bibliographical references and index.  ISBN 978-0-8014-5376-2 (cloth : alk. paper)  1. Political participation—Japan. 2. Political participation—Korea (South). 3. Government liability—Japan. 4. Government liability—Korea (South). 5. Victims—Japan—Political activity. 6. Victims—Korea (South)—Political activity. I. Title. II. Series: Studies of the Weatherhead East Asian Institute, Columbia University.  JQ1681.A75 2016  322.4'30952—dc23 2015032414
Cornell University Press strives to use environmentally responsible suppliers and materials to the fullest extent possible in the publishing of its books. Such materialsincludevegetable-based,low-VOCinksandacid-freepapersthatarerecycled, totally chlorine-free, or partly composed of nonwood fibers. For further information,visitourwebsiteatwww.cornellpress.cornell.edu.
Cloth printing
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Cover photo credit: Photograph taken by Park Seung-hwa, Seoul, 2005
For Nathan
Contents
AcknowledgmentsA Note on Conventions
Introduction: Victimhood and Governmental Accountability1. Explaining Redress Outcomes2. Constructing Victimhood and Villainy in Japan and Korea3. Hansen’s Disease Survivors’ Rights4. The Politics of Hepatitis C–Tainted Blood Products5. The North Korean Abductions and Abductee Families’ ActivismConclusion: The Politics of Redress
BibliographyIndex
vii
ix xiii
1 19 39 70 109
147 187
205 223
Acknowledgments
For first kindling my interest in Japanese politics in its East Asian context, I thank my advisers at Princeton, Gil Rozman and Kent Calder. I broadened my perspective to include the Korean peninsula under the expert tutelage of John Swenson-Wright at the University of Cambridge and benefited from the friend-ship of J. R. Kim, who would later provide me with invaluable introductions in Seoul. The seeds of this project germinated at the University of California, Berke-ley, and matured at Harvard, the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, and the George Washington University thanks to insightful input from many people. Steve Vogel offered especially helpful and extensive feedback and always pushed me to refine my arguments. T. J. Pempel provided perceptive comments through-out the process and opened many opportunities. Ron Hassner’s encouragement and penetrating questions improved the manuscript. Kim Voss generously gave thoughtful criticism and advice. Hiwatari Nobuhiro and Kage Rieko in Tokyo and Lee Sook-jong and Park Cheol-hee in Seoul provided academic bases dur-ing my fieldwork trips and much sage advice over the years. Oh Seung-youn not only gave me lots of friendly feedback on this project but also shared her family’s home with me in Seoul. Many thanks also to Effie, Georgia, Christos, and especially Popi for taking care of Quinn and feeding us so well during two crucial periods of work on this book in Komotiní. I am exceptionally grateful to my friends and colleagues Margaret Boittin, Kim Sunil, Ken Haig, Rachel Stern, Jennifer Dixon, Kenji Kushida, Kristi Govella, Miriam Kingsberg, Amy Catali-nac, Reo Matsuzaki, Yukiko Koga, Rachel Stein, Erin Chung, Andrew Yeo, and
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