The Institute of Contemporary Asian Studies (ICAS) at Temple University, Japan Campus cordially invites you to the book talk "Dynasties and Democracy: The Inherited Incumbency Advantage in Japan" by Daniel M. Smith on JAN 10, 2019. All ICAS events are held in English, open to the public, and admission is free unless otherwise noted.


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- Book Talk -
Dynasties and Democracy: The Inherited Incumbency Advantage in Japan
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Thursday, January 10, 2019 7:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. (doors open at 7:00 p.m.)
Temple University, Japan Campus, Azabu Hall, 1F Parliament
Speaker:Daniel M. Smith, Associate Professor in the Department of Government and Faculty Associate of the Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies at Harvard University
RSVP:icas@tuj.temple.edu <mailto:icas@tuj.temple.edu>
* RSVP is encouraged, but not required.



Overview:


Political dynasties exist in all democracies, but have been conspicuously prevalent in Japan, where over a third of legislators and two-thirds of cabinet ministers come from families with a history in parliament. In his new book, Dynasties and Democracy: The Inherited Incumbency Advantage in Japan, Daniel M. Smith introduces a comparative theory to explain the persistence of dynastic politics in democracies like Japan, and explores the implications of this theory for candidate selection, election, and cabinet promotion, as well as the impact of dynasties on the quality of representation.


Speaker:


Daniel M. Smith is Associate Professor in the Department of Government and Faculty Associate of the Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies at Harvard University. His research focuses on the impact of political institutions, especially electoral systems and candidate selection methods within parties, on aspects of democratic representation and behavior. He also studies Japanese politics more broadly.


He is the author of Dynasties and Democracy: The Inherited Incumbency Advantage in Japan (2018) and co-editor of Japan Decides 2017: The Japanese General Election (2018). His research has also appeared in several leading political science journals, including the American Political Science Review, Journal of Politics, Political Analysis, and Comparative Political Studies, and in various edited volumes on Japanese politics. He received his Ph.D. and M.A. in Political Science from the University of California, San Diego, and B.A. in Political Science and Italian from the University of California, Los Angeles.