The Rise and Fall of Japan's LDP: Political Party Organizations as Historical Institutions
"With their colorful detail and examples in this book . . . Krauss and Pekkanen have given us the definitive examination of the ways in which politics has changed since the seminal electoral reforms of the 1990s."—Leonard Schoppa,Perspectives on Politics(March 2013)"Krauss and Pekkanen's study is not about defeat, but survival . . . taking issue with more conventional and—their term—deductive interpretations of the LDP, and . . . with those who loaded most of the explanation of the LDP’s character and development on the nature of the SNTV MMD electoral system. . . . In short, Krauss and Pekkanen take aim at most of the conventional literature on the LDP and score a palpable hit. This is a convincing and persuasive analysis. . . . It goes without question that any scholar interested in the workings of Japanese party politics will also clearly benefit from this book. It is a major achievement."—Peter Mair,Japanese Journal of Political Science(March 2012)"This is, in my view, the best book ever written on the Japan's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). Ellis S. Krauss and Robert J. Pekkanen have done incredibly careful and comprehensive research that they use to develop insightful and original analysis. The writing style will appeal to both those with and without technical political science skills. This book will be of interest to all scholars working on political parties and institutions. It is a must-read for anyone with an interest in Japanese politics, and it is a great text to use in any course taught on Japanese politics."—Ethan Scheiner, UC Davis"Why did the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) suddenly lose its semipermanent stranglehold as Japan's dominant party? And yet, why do factions, koenkai, and the PARC of the LDP still persist even to this day as those party institutions were supposed to vanish after Japan’s fundamental electoral reform of 1994? Ellis S. Krauss and Robert J. Pekkanen elegantly solve these puzzles in the most comprehensive and systematic study of the LDP ever. The authors open the theoretical toolbox of historical institutionalism and skillfully utilize concepts such as complementary institutions, sequencing, and negative externalities; employ multiple methodologies; and uncover powerful empirical evidence. The appealing result is an overwhelmingly compelling and insightful analysis of Japanese politics. This magnificent work is more than a must-read for anyone interested in the LDP and Japan. It will certainly become a classic."—Yutaka Tsujinaka, University of Tsukuba"Ellis S. Krauss and Robert J. Pekkanen have written a timely and important book. As the Liberal Democratic Party searches for its own identity in the early twenty-first century,The Rise and Fall of Japan's LDPgives us a fine historical sketch of how it managed to stay in office so long and what made it so powerful. In its sophisticated application of Historical Institutionalism, this book offers important insights into both what has made Japanese politics unique and why institutional change is so difficult to achieve. Krauss and Pekkanen have thus written a book that should be of intense interest to both political scientists and political leaders curious about Japan’s past and future."—Sven Steinmo, European University Institute"This book is likely to become the reference on the LDP and electoral politics in Japan.The Rise and Fall of Japan's LDPis built around terrific insights, which, I am convinced, are correct. Ellis S. Krauss and Robert J. Pekkanen turn much of the literature on Japan on its head through an extremely meticulous and unprecedented empirical analysis of all key institutions of the LDP. They also back that up with a systematic and coherent theoretical framework rooted in historical institutionalism. The book is superb, very coherent, and probably correct in all its findings. It will shake and change the field of Japanese politics and become a core classic."—Yves Tiberghien, University of British Columbia"This book will, I think, become a classic in the study of Japanese politics. It will be widely read and cited for a long time. I heartily applaud the application of historical institutionalism. The static mechanical theories, the strong deductive models that the authors refer to and are currently in vogue simply do not work. Political science will only become scientific if we take time seriously."—Steven R. Reed, Chuo University"In this excellent book the authors examine the inner workings of the LDP since it was established in 1955, a critically important topic given its dominant role in Japanese politics until 2009. It is a fascinating analysis of the institutions within the LDP and how they evolved over time."—Jeff Kingston,The Japan Times, 6 March 2011"The greatest merit of this book is its comprehensive empirical underpinning, enabling the authors to overturn celebrated misapprehensions about Japanese politics. It is indeed a truly magisterial piece of work."—Arthur Stockwin,Journal of Japanese Studies"I am on record—on the back of their book cover—as saying that Ellis Krauss and Robert Pekkanen'sThe Rise and Fall of Japan’s LDPis 'the best book ever written on Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party.' Despite the passage of a full year since I wrote the blurb, my enthusiasm for the book has not dulled."—Ethan Scheiner,Social Science Japan Journal"This book demonstrates the limits of comparative statics approaches. Even long-time students of Japanese party politics will profit from this book."—Mike Thies,Party Politics"When I first looked at this book, I was put off by the effusive praise of the reviews posted prominently on the back book cover. 'Best book ever written,' 'magnificent work will certainly become a classic,' 'likely to become the reference,' and 'this book will, I think, become a classic' all struck me as perhaps a bit strong in praise of this book. Thus I was surprised at my reaction after having read the book; I agreed with their hearty praise."—Ray Christensen,Pacific Affairs