Rejecting the Radical New Left: Transformations in Japanese Social Movements
After a disastrous period of New Left political violence in the late 1960s and early 1970s, followed by two decades of abeyance, Japan has experienced a renewed era of social movement activity since the 1990s. These new movements explicitly seek to avoid contamination by the earlier period, even whe...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | deu |
| Published: |
Firenze University Press
2024-07-01
|
| Series: | SocietàMutamentoPolitica: Rivista Italiana di Sociologia |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://oajournals.fupress.net/index.php/smp/article/view/15497 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849731182483210240 |
|---|---|
| author | David H. Slater Patricia G. Steinhoff |
| author_facet | David H. Slater Patricia G. Steinhoff |
| author_sort | David H. Slater |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | After a disastrous period of New Left political violence in the late 1960s and early 1970s, followed by two decades of abeyance, Japan has experienced a renewed era of social movement activity since the 1990s. These new movements explicitly seek to avoid contamination by the earlier period, even when their participants know little about it except for fear perpetuated by media portrayals of senseless violence. We analyze ethnographic accounts of contemporary groups engaged in collective action, ranging from small informal groups in Japan’s invisible civil society; groups trying to mobilize laborers who fall outside Japan’s traditional enterprise unions; and groups reviving and revitalizing older movement networks to deal with new threats; to new right-wing challengers and their counter-movements; and those making innovative use of cultural resources. They all seek alternatives to earlier social movements that engaged in political violence, by creating very different organizational structures and relations to ideology, relying on social media for communication, and developing new forms of collective action. They foreground cultural and expressive repertoires, and seek to establish the movement as a place of personal and social belonging. As was true of the New Left social movements in the mid-20th century, these new groups are closely attuned to movement developments around the world, even as they craft their responses to specific historical conditions in Japan. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-abcbbeae38c647d28030967b6e3004c8 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2038-3150 |
| language | deu |
| publishDate | 2024-07-01 |
| publisher | Firenze University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | SocietàMutamentoPolitica: Rivista Italiana di Sociologia |
| spelling | doaj-art-abcbbeae38c647d28030967b6e3004c82025-08-20T03:08:38ZdeuFirenze University PressSocietàMutamentoPolitica: Rivista Italiana di Sociologia2038-31502024-07-011529496110.36253/smp-1549714334Rejecting the Radical New Left: Transformations in Japanese Social MovementsDavid H. Slater0Patricia G. Steinhoff1Sophia UniversityUniversity of Hawai’iAfter a disastrous period of New Left political violence in the late 1960s and early 1970s, followed by two decades of abeyance, Japan has experienced a renewed era of social movement activity since the 1990s. These new movements explicitly seek to avoid contamination by the earlier period, even when their participants know little about it except for fear perpetuated by media portrayals of senseless violence. We analyze ethnographic accounts of contemporary groups engaged in collective action, ranging from small informal groups in Japan’s invisible civil society; groups trying to mobilize laborers who fall outside Japan’s traditional enterprise unions; and groups reviving and revitalizing older movement networks to deal with new threats; to new right-wing challengers and their counter-movements; and those making innovative use of cultural resources. They all seek alternatives to earlier social movements that engaged in political violence, by creating very different organizational structures and relations to ideology, relying on social media for communication, and developing new forms of collective action. They foreground cultural and expressive repertoires, and seek to establish the movement as a place of personal and social belonging. As was true of the New Left social movements in the mid-20th century, these new groups are closely attuned to movement developments around the world, even as they craft their responses to specific historical conditions in Japan.https://oajournals.fupress.net/index.php/smp/article/view/15497japanmobilizing non-regular woekersright-wing challengers and counter-movementscultural movements |
| spellingShingle | David H. Slater Patricia G. Steinhoff Rejecting the Radical New Left: Transformations in Japanese Social Movements SocietàMutamentoPolitica: Rivista Italiana di Sociologia japan mobilizing non-regular woekers right-wing challengers and counter-movements cultural movements |
| title | Rejecting the Radical New Left: Transformations in Japanese Social Movements |
| title_full | Rejecting the Radical New Left: Transformations in Japanese Social Movements |
| title_fullStr | Rejecting the Radical New Left: Transformations in Japanese Social Movements |
| title_full_unstemmed | Rejecting the Radical New Left: Transformations in Japanese Social Movements |
| title_short | Rejecting the Radical New Left: Transformations in Japanese Social Movements |
| title_sort | rejecting the radical new left transformations in japanese social movements |
| topic | japan mobilizing non-regular woekers right-wing challengers and counter-movements cultural movements |
| url | https://oajournals.fupress.net/index.php/smp/article/view/15497 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT davidhslater rejectingtheradicalnewlefttransformationsinjapanesesocialmovements AT patriciagsteinhoff rejectingtheradicalnewlefttransformationsinjapanesesocialmovements |