Ethan Scheiner (Political Science, UC Davis)
| DATE: | Monday, January 31, 2005 |
|---|---|
| TIME: | 4:00-6:00 p.m. |
| PLACE: | IEAS Conference Room, 2223 Fulton St., 6th Floor |
| FORMAT: | Colloquium |
| SPONSOR: | Center for Japanese Studies |
Why, even in the face of great dissatisfaction with the dominant party, has no opposition party been able to offer itself as a credible challenger in Japan? Understanding such failure is important for many reasons, from its effect on Japanese economic policy to its implications for what facilitates democratic responsiveness more broadly. The principal explanations for opposition party failure in Japan focus on the country's culture and electoral system, but neither can explain, in particular, continued opposition failure over the past decade. This talk argues that a more plausible explanation rests on the predominance in Japan of clientelism, combined with a centralized government structure. The talk focuses on Japan, but also applies the framework cross-nationally.
