Structural Violence, Trauma, and the Emergence of Social Movements In East Asia

This session focuses on social movements led by individuals who have experienced severe psychological trauma, drawing on cases from Japan, South Korea, and other contexts. It explores the significance of individual “lived experiences” in processes of social transformation from a historical sociological perspective, with particular attention to the geopolitical structure of East Asia.

Specifically, the session examines the following questions within countries and regions situated under the tensions of the international Cold War and shaped by the “dual Cold War system” established by the United States: How were domestic Cold War regimes structured? What forms of structural violence emerged from them? How did such violence affect people at the social margins? How did individual victims survive in the aftermath of psychological trauma? What forms of social transformation were envisioned and pursued by those who became politically active? How were mobilizing and discursive resources supplied to these movements? How did these movements transform society? And what impact did they have on the Cold War order in East Asia?

By critically engaging with conventional social movement studies that take the nation-state as their primary unit of analysis, this session seeks to contribute to a rethinking of the methodology of social movement research. It aims to foster discussion on the interaction between trauma, collective action, and geopolitical structures, while advancing new theoretical perspectives on social movements in East Asia and beyond.