14005
Proseminar
AM: "Democracy without competition? Party politics and government in contemporary Japan"
Elena Korshenko
Kommentar
Representative democracy rests on free and regular electoral competition, in which the citizens exercise their sovereign right to elect and dismiss their representatives and government based on their policy promises and performance in office. From this perspective, Japan can be seen as an “uncommon democracy” (Pempel 1990), where the competition has been limited by the almost uninterrupted rule of a single party – the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) – throughout the post-war period. The LDP’s dominance has proved resilient to economic and demographic crises, low public approval ratings, and even its enduring association with corruption. The goal of this course is to explore the properties of this system and identify the factors that underpin it. To this end, the seminar will, firstly, map out the party system in Japan and discuss the most prominent actors within it. Secondly, it will introduce the relevant concepts and theories of comparative political science related to electoral competition, party organisation, and decision-making in order to place Japan in a broader context and to uncover the key features of its one-party dominant system. More specifically, the course will zoom into such topics, as the structure of political conflict in Japan, electoral campaigning, the influence of religious and other interest groups on politics, as well as the recent challenges of personalistic leadership and populism. Finally, and beyond the substantive content, the seminar will also hone a range of academic skills necessary for students’ independent work and successful completion of the final written assignment. Schließen
14 Termine
Zusätzliche Termine
Di, 18.06.2024 14:00 - 16:00 Di, 25.06.2024 14:00 - 16:00 Di, 02.07.2024 14:00 - 16:00Regelmäßige Termine der Lehrveranstaltung
Di, 16.04.2024 12:00 - 14:00
Di, 23.04.2024 12:00 - 14:00
Di, 30.04.2024 12:00 - 14:00
Di, 07.05.2024 12:00 - 14:00
Di, 14.05.2024 12:00 - 14:00
Di, 21.05.2024 12:00 - 14:00
Di, 28.05.2024 12:00 - 14:00
Di, 04.06.2024 12:00 - 14:00
Di, 11.06.2024 12:00 - 14:00
Di, 18.06.2024 12:00 - 14:00
Di, 25.06.2024 12:00 - 14:00
Di, 02.07.2024 12:00 - 14:00
Di, 09.07.2024 12:00 - 14:00
Di, 16.07.2024 12:00 - 14:00