Diasporic activism: the “comfort women” movement in Europe and the United States (2015-2016)
Keywords:
comfort women, diasporic activism, transnational networks, social movements, gender violence and international relationsAbstract
Revista CIDOB d’Afers Internacionals, nº 121
Quadrimestral (January-April 2019)
ISSN:1133-6595 | E-ISSN:2013-035X
DOI: doi.org/10.24241/rcai.2019.121.1.209
This paper analyses and compares the roles of the Comfort Women Justice Coalition (CWJC) in the United States and Justice for Comfort Women UK (JCW) during the cycle of protests unleashed by the transnational “comfort women” advocacy network between December 28th 2015 and September 30th 2016. The central hypothesis of the work is that the emergence of diasporic activism – in this case in defence of “comfort women” – does not constitute an isomorphic pattern of activism from abroad nor of linkage with the dominant actors in the transnational network. By combining classic discussions of movements and social networks with recent contributions on political activism in the diaspora, a qualitative case study is presented based on institutional material and semi-structured interviews with members of the JCW and the CWJC.
>> The full text articles of this issue are available only in Spanish language
References
Adamson, Fiona. «Globalization, Transnational Political Mobilization, and Networks of Violence». Cambridge Review of International Affairs, vol. 18, n.° 1 (2005), p. 35-53.
Adamson, Fiona. «The Growing Importance of Diaspora Politics». Current History, vol. 115, n.° 784 (2016), p. 291-297.
Álvarez, María del Pilar. «La sociedad civil trasnacional contra-ataca: El rol del Consejo Coreano para las mujeres raptadas por Japón como esclavas sexuales en la rectificación del pasado agresor de Japón en la región». Revista Miriada: Investigación en Ciencias Sociales, vol. 8, n.° 12 (2016), p. 95-117.
ASC-Asian Solidarity Conference. The Resolution and Action Plans of the 14th Asian Solidarity Conference for the Issue of Military Sexual Slavery by Japan, (18-20 de Mayo de 2016).
Chou, Chih-Chieh. «An Emerging Transnational Movement in Women’s Human Rights: Campaign of Nongovernmental Organizations on Comfort Women». Journal of Economic & Social Research, vol. 5, n.° 1 (2003), p. 153-181.
Della Porta, Donatella y Andretta, Massimiliano. Globalization from Below: Transnational Activists and Protest Networks. Minnesota: University of Minnesota Press, 2006.
Della Porta, Donatella y Tarrow, Sidney. Transnational Protest and Global Activism. Nueva York: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2005.
Gerthesis, Svenaj. Diasporic Activism in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. Nueva York: Routledge, 2016.
Keck, Margaret. y Sikkink, Kathryn. Activists Beyond Borders: Advocacy Networks in International Politics. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1998.
Koinova, Maria. «Conditions and timing of moderate and radical diaspora mobilization: evidence from conflict-generated diasporas». Working Paper George Mason University - Global Migration and Transnational Politics Series, n.° 9 (octubre de 2009) (en línea) [Fecha de consulta: 03.01.2018] http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/51520/
Koinova, Maria. «Sustained vs. Episodic Mobilization among Conflict-generated Diasporas», International Political Science Review Vol 37, n.° 4, 2016, p. 500-516.
Lee, Yoo Hyeok. «Toward Translocal Solidarities: The Comfort Women Issue and the Spatial Politics of Resistance». Localities, vol. 5, (2015), p. 159-169.
Lipschutz, Ronnie. «Reconstructing World Politics: The Emergence of Global Civil Society». Millennium, vol. 21, (1992), p. 389-420.
Mittelman, James. The Globalization Syndrome: Transformation and Resistance. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2000.
MOFA-Japón (Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de Japón). Informe Kato - Details of Exchange between Japan and the Republic of Korea. From the Drafting of the Kono Statement to the Asian Women´s Fund. MOFA, 2014 (en línea) [Fecha de consulta: 10.06.2017] http://www.mofa.go.jp/files/000042171.pdf
MOFA-Corea del Sur (Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de Corea del Sur). «Número total de coreanos en el exterior». Estadística oficial del Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de Corea del Sur 2015. MOFA-Corea del Sur, 2015 (en línea) [Fecha de consulta: 10.06.2017] http://www.index.go.kr/potal/main/EachDtlPageDetail.do?idx_cd=1682
Naim, Noises. «Lori´s War: The FP Interview». Foreign Policy, n.° 118 (2000), p. 28-55.
Nye, Joseph y Donahue, John (eds.). Governance in a Globalizing Word. Washington: Brookings Institution, 2000.
Piper, Nicola. «Transnational Women’s Activism in Japan and Korea: The Unresolved Issue of Military Sexual Slavery». Global Networks, vol. 1, n.° 2 (2001), p. 155-170.
Qiu, Peipei; Su Zhuliang y Chen, Lifei. Chinese Comfort Women: Testimonies from Imperial Japan´s Sex Slaves. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013.
Sikkink, Kathryn. «La dimensión transnacional de los movimientos sociales». En: Jelin, Elizabeth (ed.). Más allá de la nación: las escalas múltiples de los movimientos sociales. Buenos Aires: Libros del Zorzal, 2003, p. 301-335.
Smith, Hazel y Stares, Paul (eds.). Diasporas in Conflict: Peace-makers or Peacewreckers? Tokio: United Nations University Press, 2007.
Soh, Sarah. «The Korean “Comfort Women”: Movement for Redress». Asian Survey, vol. 36, n.° 12 (1996), p. 1.226 -1.240.
Soh, Sarah. «Japan’s National/Asian Women’s Fund for Comfort Women». Pacific Affairs, vol. 76, n.° 2 (2003), p. 209-233.
Sokefeld, Martin. «Mobilizing in Transnational Space: A Social Movement Approach to the Formation of Diaspora». Global Networks, vol. 6, n.° 3 (2006), p. 265-284.
Tarrow, Sidney. El poder en movimiento: Los movimientos sociales, la acción colectiva y la política. Madrid: Alianza, 2009 [1998].
The Korean Council for the Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan. Declaración de Kim Bok-Dong sobre el Acuerdo 2015. The Korean Council, 2015.
Tsutsui, Kiyoteru. «RedressingPast HumanRights Violations: Global Dimension of Contemporary Social Movements». Social Forces, vol. 85, n.° 1 (2006), p. 331–354.
