Social Change, Advocacy Groups, and Cross Border Network of
Civil Society in Pacific Asia
Jae Hyeok Shin
Korea University
August 1, 2013
Examples
Social Changes in Pacific Asia
Examples
Social Changes in Pacific Asia
Examples
Social Changes in Pacific Asia
Examples
Social Changes in Pacific Asia
Examples
Social Changes in Pacific Asia
Examples
Social Changes in Pacific Asia
Examples
Social Changes in Pacific Asia
Examples
Social Changes in Pacific Asia
Examples
Social Changes in Pacific Asia
 Communist revolutions
Vietnam in 1945
North Korea in 1946
China in 1949
 Transitions to democracy (democratization)
Thailand in 1975, 1979, 1992, 2007
The Philippines in 1986
South Korea in 1987
Taiwan in 1992
Indonesia 1998
Questions
Social Changes in Pacific Asia
1. What led to those social changes?
2. What role did advocacy groups play in bringing about
such changes?
3. Why do advocacy groups often build networks across
borders?
The Causes of Social Change
Status Quo: No Social Change
People often have grievances against the government.
Ex) Human rights violations, discrimination, poverty, corruption,
pollution, …
But most people do nothing even when they have such
grievances.
 No social change
Why?
The Causes of Social Change
Status Quo: No Social Change
 Collective action or free-rider problem
When all other people stay home,
if only I revolt, no change and I will pay the price.
if I also stay home, no change and I will pay nothing.
When all other people revolt,
if I also revolt, social change and I will pay the cost.
if I stay home, social change and I will pay nothing.
 It is always better for me to stay home no matter what other people
choose to do.
 Everyone should have the same incentive.
 No revolt
 No social change
The Causes of Social Change
Puzzle
All of a sudden so many people protest on the street and bring
about social change.
Why?
The Causes of Social Change
Social Change or Tipping Model
 There are 10 people who are deciding whether to join revolt
or not. Two people have a threshold of 1. Two people have a
threshold of 3. Two people have a threshold of 5. Four people
have a threshold of 7.
1, 1, 3, 3, 5, 5, 7, 7, 7, 7
The Causes of Social Change
Social Change or Tipping Model
 There are 10 people who are deciding whether to join revolt
or not. Two people have a threshold of 1. Two people have a
threshold of 3. Two people have a threshold of 5. Four people
have a threshold of 7.
1, 1, 3, 3, 5, 5, 7, 7, 7, 7
 no revolt
 no change
The Causes of Social Change
Social Change or Tipping Model
 Now economy is bad, which lowered everyone’s threshold by
1. Two people have a threshold of 0. Two people have a
threshold of 2. Two people have a threshold of 4. Four people
have a threshold of 6.
0, 0, 2, 2, 4, 4, 6, 6, 6, 6
The Causes of Social Change
Social Change or Tipping Model
 Now economy is bad, which lowered everyone’s threshold by
1. Two people have a threshold of 0. Two people have a
threshold of 2. Two people have a threshold of 4. Four people
have a threshold of 6.
0, 0, 2, 2, 4, 4, 6, 6, 6, 6
R, R, 2, 2, 4, 4, 6, 6, 6, 6
The Causes of Social Change
Social Change or Tipping Model
 Now economy is bad, which lowered everyone’s threshold by
1. Two people have a threshold of 0. Two people have a
threshold of 2. Two people have a threshold of 4. Four people
have a threshold of 6.
0, 0, 2, 2, 4, 4, 6, 6, 6, 6
R, R, 2, 2, 4, 4, 6, 6, 6, 6
R, R, R, R, 4, 4, 6, 6, 6, 6
The Causes of Social Change
Social Change or Tipping Model
 Now economy is bad, which lowered everyone’s threshold by
1. Two people have a threshold of 0. Two people have a
threshold of 2. Two people have a threshold of 4. Four people
have a threshold of 6.
0, 0, 2, 2, 4, 4, 6, 6, 6, 6
R, R, 2, 2, 4, 4, 6, 6, 6, 6
R, R, R, R, 4, 4, 6, 6, 6, 6
R, R, R, R, R, R, 6, 6, 6, 6
The Causes of Social Change
Social Change or Tipping Model
 Now economy is bad, which lowered everyone’s threshold by
1. Two people have a threshold of 0. Two people have a
threshold of 2. Two people have a threshold of 4. Four people
have a threshold of 6.
0, 0, 2, 2, 4, 4, 6, 6, 6, 6
R, R, 2, 2, 4, 4, 6, 6, 6, 6
R, R, R, R, 4, 4, 6, 6, 6, 6
R, R, R, R, R, R, 6, 6, 6, 6
R, R, R, R, R, R, R, R, R, R
The Causes of Social Change
Social Change or Tipping Model
 Now economy is bad, which lowered everyone’s threshold by
1. Two people have a threshold of 0. Two people have a
threshold of 2. Two people have a threshold of 4. Four people
have a threshold of 6.
0, 0, 2, 2, 4, 4, 6, 6, 6, 6
R, R, 2, 2, 4, 4, 6, 6, 6, 6
R, R, R, R, 4, 4, 6, 6, 6, 6
R, R, R, R, R, R, 6, 6, 6, 6
R, R, R, R, R, R, R, R, R, R
 As grievances increase, the likelihood of revolt/change rises.
The Causes of Social Change
Social Change or Tipping Model
 Communist revolutions
Vietnam in 1945
North Korea in 1946
China in 1949
 Transitions to democracy (democratization)
Thailand in 1975, 1979, 1992, 2007
The Philippines in 1986
South Korea in 1987
Taiwan in 1992
Indonesia 1998
The Causes of Social Change
Social Change or Tipping Model
 Communist revolutions
Vietnam in 1945
North Korea in 1946
China in 1949
poverty, colonialism, …
 Transitions to democracy (democratization)
Thailand in 1975, 1979, 1992, 2007
The Philippines in 1986
human rights violations,
South Korea in 1987
corruption,
Taiwan in 1992
bad economy, …
Indonesia 1998
The Causes of Social Change
Social Change or Tipping Model
 Now economy is bad, which lowered everyone’s threshold by
1. Two people have a threshold of 0. Two people have a
threshold of 2. Two people have a threshold of 4. Four people
have a threshold of 6.
0, 0, 2, 2, 4, 4, 6, 6, 6, 6
R, R, 2, 2, 4, 4, 6, 6, 6, 6
R, R, R, R, 4, 4, 6, 6, 6, 6
R, R, R, R, R, R, 6, 6, 6, 6
R, R, R, R, R, R, R, R, R, R
Who has a lower threshold?
The Role of Advocacy Groups
Social Network Theory
Advocacy groups provide people with social networks.
 Social networks also lower the threshold.
 Grievances “push” + Social networks “pull”  revolt
(Scacco, Alexandra. 2008. “Who Riots? Explaining Individual Participation in
Ethnic Violence.” Columbia University unpublished paper)
The Role of Advocacy Groups
Social Network Theory
Christian-Muslim riots in Nigeria (Scacco 2008)
The Role of Advocacy Groups
Solution to Collective Action Problem
 With no advocacy groups,
When all other people revolt,
if I also revolt, social change and I will pay the cost.
if I stay home, social change and I will pay nothing.
 It is better for me to stay home even when other people choose to
revolt.
 Everyone should have the same incentive.
 No revolt
 No social change
The Role of Advocacy Groups
Solution to Collective Action Problem
 With advocacy groups that provide rewords and penalties,
When all other people revolt,
if I also revolt, social change and I will receive reward.
if I stay home, social change and I will pay penalty.
 It is better for me to revolt when other people choose to revolt.
 Everyone should have the same incentive.
 Revolt
 Social change
The Role of Advocacy Groups
Summary
 Advocacy groups provide social networks that lower the
threshold to participate in social movement.
 Advocacy groups give rewards to participants and punish free
riders, which helps solve the collective action problem.
The Role of Advocacy Groups
Pacific Asia
 Communist revolutions
Vietnam in 1945
North Korea in 1946
China in 1949
 Transitions to democracy (democratization)
Thailand 1975, 1979, 1992, 2007
The Philippines in 1986
South Korea in 1987
Taiwan in 1992
Indonesia 1998
The Role of Advocacy Groups
Social Network Theory
 Communist revolutions Communist parties and organizations
Vietnam in 1945
Viet Minh
North Korea in 1946
Workers’ Party of Korea
China in 1949
Chinese Communist Party
 Democratization
Student activist groups and opposition parties
Thailand
National Student Center of Thailand (1973)
The Philippines in 1986 United Nationalist Democratic Organization
South Korea in 1987
Guk-bon
Taiwan in 1992
Student groups from National Taiwan University
Indonesia 1998
College student groups
Cross Border Network of Advocacy Groups
Puzzle
 Advocacy groups provide social networks that lower the threshold to
participate in social movement.
 Advocacy groups give rewards to participants and punish free riders,
which helps solve the collective action problem.
 Domestic advocacy groups may be sufficient to bring about social
change within countries.
 Why do they bother to build cross border networks?
Cross Border Network of Advocacy Groups
Social Change or Tipping Model
 There are 10 people who are deciding whether to join revolt
or not. Two people have a threshold of 0. Two people have a
threshold of 5. Two people have a threshold of 7. Four people
have a threshold of 9.
0, 0, 5, 5, 7, 7, 9, 9, 9, 9
Cross Border Network of Advocacy Groups
Social Change or Tipping Model
 There are 10 people who are deciding whether to join revolt
or not. Two people have a threshold of 0. Two people have a
threshold of 5. Two people have a threshold of 7. Four people
have a threshold of 9.
R, R, 5, 5, 7, 7, 9, 9, 9, 9
 no social change
Cross Border Network of Advocacy Groups
Social Change or Tipping Model
 A cross border network increases the number of participants.
Now five people revolt. Two people have a threshold of 5.
Two people have a threshold of 7. Four people have a
threshold of 9.
R, R, R, R, R, 5, 5, 7, 7, 9, 9, 9, 9
Cross Border Network of Advocacy Groups
Social Change or Tipping Model
 A cross border network increases the number of participants.
Now five people revolt. Two people have a threshold of 5.
Two people have a threshold of 7. Four people have a
threshold of 9.
R, R, R, R, R, 5, 5, 7, 7, 9, 9, 9, 9
R, R, R, R, R, R, R, 7, 7, 9, 9, 9, 9
Cross Border Network of Advocacy Groups
Social Change or Tipping Model
 A cross border network increases the number of participants.
Now five people revolt. Two people have a threshold of 5.
Two people have a threshold of 7. Four people have a
threshold of 9.
R, R, R, R, R, 5, 5, 7, 7, 9, 9, 9, 9
R, R, R, R, R, R, R, R, R, 9, 9, 9, 9
Cross Border Network of Advocacy Groups
Social Change or Tipping Model
 A cross border network increases the number of participants.
Now five people revolt. Two people have a threshold of 5.
Two people have a threshold of 7. Four people have a
threshold of 9.
R, R, R, R, R, 5, 5, 7, 7, 9, 9, 9, 9
R, R, R, R, R, R, R, R, R, 9, 9, 9, 9
R, R, R, R, R, R, R, R, R, R, R, R, R
Cross Border Network of Advocacy Groups
Social Change or Tipping Model
 A cross border network increases the number of participants.
Now five people revolt. Two people have a threshold of 5.
Two people have a threshold of 7. Four people have a
threshold of 9.
R, R, R, R, R, 5, 5, 7, 7, 9, 9, 9, 9
R, R, R, R, R, R, R, R, R, 9, 9, 9, 9
R, R, R, R, R, R, R, R, R, R, R, R, R
 Cross border network of advocacy groups increases the
number of participants, and thus raises the likelihood of revolt.
Cross Border Network of Advocacy Groups
Expectation
 Advocacy groups are likely to build cross border networks for
repressive states.
Cross Border Network of Advocacy Groups
Examples
 Advocacy groups are likely to build cross border networks for
repressive states.
Free Tibet
Burma Partnership
International Coalition to Stop Crimes against Humanity in
North Korea (ICNK)
.
.
Cross Border Network of Advocacy Groups
Examples
 Burma Partnership
Burmese Alliance Organizations:
Forum for Democracy in Burma (FDB)
Nationalities Youth Forum (NYF)
Students and Youth Congress of Burma (SYCB)
Regional Solidarity Networks:
Alternative ASEAN Network on Burma (Altsean-Burma)
Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (Forum-Asia)
Asia Pacific Solidarity Coalition (APSOC)
National Solidarity Coalitions:
Solidaritas Indonesia untuk Burma (Indonesian Solidarity for Burma) (SIB)
Free Burma Coalition-Philippines (FBC-Philippines)
Burma Campaign Korea (BCK)
Hong Kong Coalition for a Free Burma (HKCFB)
People’s Forum on Burma (PFB) (Japan)
Cross Border Network of Advocacy Groups
Examples
 International Coalition to Stop Crimes against Humanity in North
Korea (ICNK)
Advocates International Global Council
Aegis Trust
ALTSEAN-BURMA
Amnesty International Japan
Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances
Asian Human Rights & Humanity Association of Japan
Association for the Rescue of North Korea Abductees, Chiangmai
Burma Partnership
BurmaInfo, Japan
Christian Lawyer's Association for Paraguay (AACP)
Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW)
Committee for Human Rights in North Korea
CONECTAS (Brazil)
.
.
Social Change, Advocacy Groups, and Cross Border Network
of Civil Society in Pacific Asia
Conclusions
 Advocacy groups contribute to social change in two ways:
by providing social networks as “pull” factor,
by helping solve the collective action (free-rider) problem.
 They played a large role in social change in Pacific Asia, such as
communist revolutions and transitions to democracy.
 Cross border networks of advocacy groups increase the number of
participants in social movement, which increases the likelihood of
social change.
 Advocacy groups actively build cross border networks for repressive
states in Pacific Asia, such as Burma and North Korea.
Social Change, Advocacy Groups, and Cross Border Network
of Civil Society in Pacific Asia
Discussion Questions
1. Why did political parties play a larger role in communist
revolutions, while advocacy groups often played a larger role
in transitions to democracy?
2. The active cross border network of advocacy groups seems
to contribute to the recent political liberalization of Myanmar
(Burma). Why doesn’t it work for other authoritarian regimes
in Pacific Asia, such as China and North Korea?