Global Norms, Local Activism, and Social Movement Outcomes: Global Human Rights and Resident Koreans in Japan

The authors integrate social movement outcomes research and the world society approach to build a theoretical model to examine the impact of global and local factors on movement outcomes. Challenging the current research on policy change, which rarely examines the effects of global norms and local activism in one analysis, they argue (1) that global regimes empower and embolden local social movements and increase pressure on target governments from below, and (2) that local activists appeal to international forums with help from international activists to pressure the governments from above. When the pressures from the top and the bottom converge, social movements are more likely to succeed. Furthermore, these pressures are stronger in countries integrated into global society and on issues with strong global norms. The empirical analysis of social movements by resident Koreans in Japan advocating for four types of human rights—civil, political, social/economic, and cultural—demonstrates that the movements produced more successes as Japan\u27s involvement in the international human rights regime expanded since the late 1970s, and that activism on issues with strong global norms achieved greater successes. The analysis also shows that lack of cohesive domestic activism can undercut the chances of social movements\u27 success even with strong global norms on the issue

Changing parameters of citizenship and claims-making : organized Islam in European public spheres

Digitised version produced by the EUI Library and made available online in 2020

Boundaries and identity : immigrants in Europe

Digitised version produced by the EUI Library and made available online in 2020

Diversity from Within and Without: Comparative Notes from France and Japan

This paper focuses on examining the instructional theme of “diversity” in the teaching of citizenship in schools, particularly in history and civics subjects, by bringing in examples from France and Japan. We find that more so than own ethnic and racial minorities, in both cases, the broader world emerges as the source of “meaningful diversity.” In France, the introduction of diversity into school teaching is closely connected to her core membership in the European Union. In Japan, the country’s efforts to present itself as a “proper” nation in international spheres are the main drive behind the changes in curricula. We also find that diversity is in the main discussed in the context of rights and responsibilities, thus as an attribute of the individual and less as a characteristic of the collective. Diversity teaching in France and Japan in that sense does not have the mission of correcting historical injustices or recognition of collective racial or ethnic origins, as original multicultural ideas would have it (as they developed in the US). Rather, it reflects a shift in educational priorities that increasingly emphasize active and participatory citizens, exercising rights and responsibilities not only within but without the national boundaries. © 2010 2010 Taylor and Francies Group LLC