Enduring Effects of Social Movements on Organizations: The US' Designation of Human Trafficking Countries

• In Event: 2451 - Section on Organizations, Occupations, and Work Refereed Roundtables (1 hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 23. Social Movements, Collective Action and Labor Resistance

Abstract

This paper systematically examines the effects of social movements on organizational valuation and evaluation. The literature on the political influences of social movements has focused on whether social movements achieve stated goals––legislative changes, bureaucratic enforcement, or (short-term) policy implementation. However, less attention was paid to the (long-term and) persisting effects of social movements on organizations. We claim that some successful social movements can produce enduring influence on target organizations through (re)shaping an organization’s cultural attitudes and perception. By examining the effects of the U.S. anti-trafficking movement groups––religious evangelicals and abolitionist feminists–– on the U.S. Trafficking in Persons (TIP)’s designation of “human trafficking country” from 2001 to 2014, we found that those movement groups’ worldviews and priorities are consistently affecting the ongoing formal designation of human trafficking countries, net of whether a country criminalized sex trafficking and other factors. Our analysis shows that countries in the lowest tier in TIP reports tend to be those whose profile shows lower gender equality and religious freedom. It also shows that the designation is likely to reflect the U.S.’s geopolitical interest. Further research is needed to understand the mechanisms and degree of the influence on the US anti-trafficking policy.

Authors

• Hyunsik Chun, University of Iowa

• Yooneui Kim, University of Iowa