Description
The family is rarely a topic of international politics, but politicised captivity is one of the few domains where familial relations can play a prominent role. Families can provide a tangible manifestation of the humanity and individuality of the captives, can become activists and advocates on behalf the captives, and can themselves become political resources employed by other actors. In this piece, we examine the case of the families of Japanese abductees by North Korea to shed light on the paradoxes of the position of families in situations of politicised abduction. In particular, by examining the cases of these families, we argue that we can observe both the power and limits of emotional capital within international politics.
