Measuring the effectiveness of theory in action : grass-roots initiatives and social justice for Japan’s Kurdish migrants

Abstract

Set in the Kurdish migrant community of Kawaguchi, Japan, the current study examines interview data to investigate the effectiveness of advocacy initiatives to stimulate social justice. Analysis is based on Byram’s Model of Intercultural Communicative Competence. Measured according to Sorrels's and Leydens and Lucena’s characteristics of social justice, the results indicate progress toward this aim. However, the emergent opportunities that favour the documented and the continuing risks for the undocumented suggest an unequal distribution of social justice. The initiatives discussed here hold implementation potential in other migrant communities, especially those of populations that are minorities in their countries of origin.