Base Towns: Local Contestation of the U.S. Military in Korea and Japan

Claudia Junghyun Kim's book "Base Towns" investigates the contentious politics surrounding twenty U.S. military bases in Korea and Japan, examining why some host communities resist and others remain compliant. She shows that activists can build broad anti-base movements by subordinating their radical goals to immediate, mundane demands, but these strategies can sometimes reinforce the presumed inevitability of the American presence.

Format: Hardback
Length: 232 pages
Publication date: 14 March 2023
Publisher: Oxford University Press Inc

Despite the growing interest in the extensive network of U.S. military bases located abroad, there remains a lack of comprehensive understanding regarding why certain host communities choose to resist these installations in their backyards, while others remain compliant. In her book titled "Base Towns," Claudia Junghyun Kim delves into this perplexing puzzle by examining the contentious politics surrounding twenty U.S. military bases situated across Korea and Japan. Specifically, she focuses on the municipalities that host these bases and the varying degrees of community acceptance and resistance observed over time. Drawing upon fieldwork interviews, participant observation, and data collected from protest events spanning from 2000 to 2015, Kim demonstrates that activists occasionally succeed in forging alliances with the otherwise politically inactive local populations when they strategically subordinate their radical movement goals to more immediate and mundane demands that form the basis of everyday local grievances.

To achieve this, activists in base towns employ various strategies. They capitalize on disruptive incidents that occur on a daily basis, adopt culturally resonant movement frames, and forge alliances with local political elites. These activist tactics have the potential to create broad anti-base movements. However, it is important to note that these strategies sometimes inadvertently reinforce the widely held belief that the American presence is inevitable.

By examining the actions, strategies, and dilemmas of activists, this book sheds light on marginalized actors in domestic and international politics, who are often far removed from the elite decision-making processes that shape interstate base politics. Nonetheless, they are compelled to live with the consequences of these policies. Through their endeavors, these activists manage to complicate the operations of America's military behemoth, highlighting the complexities and nuances of the political landscape.

Weight: 506g
Dimension: 162 x 244 x 26 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780197665275