Japan's ruling party is a prime example of a dominant party. While dominant parties in other democracies around the world have lost their grip on power or have even disappeared altogether, the LDP is still going strong. What explains the success of the party? How did the LDP acquire its dominant...

This paper focuses on the dynamic interaction among electoral system changes and the electoral strategies of parties in Italy and Japan (1994-2009). In the first section, some key changes in electoral rules are outlined. The second section focuses on the pre-electoral strategies of parties and...

There is considerable evidence supporting the prediction of spatial models of politics that parties adapt to electoral rules. But as in economic markets, adaptation can occur either when parties behave strategically in the face of new incentives, or when electoral competition at the district...

This paper examines basic but very important questions in the democratic process: do individual candidates represent the will of their own district constituency, even in a parliamentary system with well-disciplined legislative parties? The answer is clearly yes: this paper demonstrates dyadic...