North Korean political activism and networks. The role of social organizations of humanitarian aid, defectors assistance and political human rights in the unification process

This article analyzes the repertoires of action, links, collective identities, and pressure strategies displayed by South Korean social organizations for humanitarian aid, defectors assistance, and political human rights. This work states that the "North Korean" political activism networks have a high level of incidence in inter-Korean relations and normative changes surrounding unification. Furthermore, Human Rights as a collective identity of these networks favor cooperation between the Koreas when the identity process is rooted in local dynamics and official inter-Korean policies, while on the other hand, they tend to challenge the national agenda when social actors have greater interactions in international human rights networks. This research is based on a qualitative study of integrated cases constructed upon institutional materials, analysis of social networks and, interviews with members of South Korean NGOs.