Accidental Activists: Victim Movements and Government Accountability in Japan and South Korea

In this innovative study of victim redress movements, Celeste L. Arrington skillfully pairs cases in South Korea and Japan to investigate what explains differences in outcomes—why some movements get more redress than others. To her credit, Arrington is never satisfied with the easy answers, and as a result her compelling analysis deserves wide attention. Scholars of South Korean and Japanese politics, social movements, and civil society will want to take note of this book.

Combining rich theoretical insight with careful empirical investigation, this remarkable book offers an original and compelling perspective on the comparative law and politics of victim redress. Celeste L. Arrington skillfully reveals the different paths and plights of three different groups fighting for compensation in Japan and Korea—Hansen's disease victims, individuals contaminated by hepatitis C through blood products, and abductees—and explains why the outcomes of these movements varied so dramatically. This book holds important lessons for lawyers and policymakers, offers new insights to scholars of comparative politics, law and society, and Asian studies, and provides both a template for action and a cautionary tale for victims and activists.

Accidental Activists is a fascinating study of the growing prominence of rights litigation in East Asia, a region long thought to be inhospitable toward rights-claiming and lawsuits. But it is more than that. Arrington shows that while movements can use litigation to right tragic wrongs, gaining allies in government too early can reduce activists' reliance on the contentious power of litigation, limiting their ability to extract concessions. This is a landmark book, carefully crafted and richly researched.