Lost in translation: Problematizing the localization of transnational activism

Existing studies on human rights change posit that activists use transnational networks to organize global and local movements against governments. However, this explanation assumes that international rights claims gain local support and underestimates how difficult it could be for activists to translate global movements into local movements. I address this issue by proposing three mechanisms through which activists face such difficulties and fail to pressure governments. First, misrepresentation occurs when international organizations accept and support activists who do not represent local voices and cannot get local support for their rights claims. Second, misperception happens when activists introduce global norms into local debates but local audiences, unfamiliar with these “foreign” concepts, misperceive them and thus do not support international rights claims. Third, mismatch occurs when pre-existing local movements mistakenly use international rights claims for their own goals, lead local discussions, and overshadow transnational activism. Due to these problems of misrepresentation, misperception, and mismatch, activists may fail to localize their transnational activism. This, in turn, makes it difficult to realize their claims at home. I demonstrate my argument by analyzing the indigenous peoples’ movements in Japan, tracing the success and failure of Ainu and Okinawan activists to domesticate the global indigenous peoples’ movement