The LDP at 50: The Rise, Power Resources, and Perspectives of Japan’s Dominant Party

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 position and how did it manage to cling to it? In an attempt to answer these questions, this paper discusses the rise, the power (re-)sources and the perspectives of Japan’s dominant party.Liberal Democratic Party, Japan, dominant party, party competition, electoral system

Remittances and educational attainment: Evidence from Tajikistan

This paper examines the impact of remittances on educational attainment in Tajikistan using the Tajikistan Living Standards Measurement Survey (TLSS) from 2007 and 2009. Applying an ordered probit framework and controlling for hetereoskedasticity, censoring, intra-family correlation, and different masures of remittances, we find a negative impact of receiving remittances on educational outcomes. Calculations of the marginal effects draw a more subtle picture indicating that remittances positively affect educational achievements as long as education is mandatory. For higher, non-mandatory levels of education, however, receiving remittances negatively influences educational attainment. These results support concerns regarding the wide-spread affirmative impact of remittances on human capital formation. Accounting for endogeneity, the coefficients of the remittance variables become insignificant. Our general findings, however, remain unchanged implying that remittances are not used for investments in human capital accumulation once education becomes voluntary

Informal Institutions in Autocracies: Analytical Perspectives and the Case of the Chinese Communist Party

Analyses of the shape and functioning of systems of political rule need to address informal institutions, which exist alongside and can relate to formal institutions in various ways. In this paper, I first discuss some analytical foundations of the study of such institutions. I then suggest that a focus on political regimes - understood as the configuration of formal and informal institutions shaping and reflecting the access to and the exercise of political power - can be particularly useful for analysing the shape and functioning of autocracies. Finally, I use such a regime focus to study the Chinese Communist Party and its leadership succession process, which is characterised by increasing institutionalisation and complementary as well as substitutive relations between formal and informal institutions

„Informelle Politik“ und „informelle Institutionen“ : konzeptionelle Grundlagen, analytische Zugänge und Herausforderungen für das Studium autoritärer und anderer politischer Herrschaftssysteme

Syftet med examensarbetet var att med en miljösystemanalytisk metod jämföra och bedömamiljöbelastningen från vägkonstruktioner som består av olika lättfyllnadsmaterial. Materialensom analyseras är Leca, ®HASOPOR och gummiklipp. Leca är bränd expanderad lera ochgummiklipp är uttjänta bildäck som klippts sönder. ®HASOPOR, kallas också för skummatglas, består av glasavfall som malts till ett fint pulver och sedan upphettats tillsammans medett jäsmedel som får materialet att expandera. I studien bedöms två olika frågeställningar. Den första syftar till att få svar på vilket materialsom är bäst att använda ur miljösynpunkt, utan att ta hänsyn till alternativ användning av glasochgummiavfall. Här bedöms framställning av materialen, transporter, anläggning av vägenoch utlakning av ämnen. Den andra frågeställningen har ett bredare perspektiv som tar upphur samhället bör hantera restmaterial som uppstår, vilket i det här fallet är bildäck ochglasavfall. Här inkluderas även restprodukternas alternativa behandling, om de inte skulleanvändas som lättfyllnadsmaterial. Metoden som används i rapporten är Livscykelanalys och materialen bedöms genomkarakterisering och värdering. Karakteriseringsbedömningen har gjorts utifrån påverkan påväxthuseffekt, försurning, eutrofiering, fotokemiskt ozon, humantoxicitet och ekologisktoxicitet. I analysen används två värderingsmetoder. Den ena, EPS baseras på betalningsviljaoch den andra, Erlandssons miljöbedömningsmetod, baseras på de svenskamiljökvalitetsmålen. Resultatet visar att de aktiviteter som påverkar resultatet mest är produktionen av materialenoch emissioner från dessa när de ligger i vägkonstruktionen. Data för utlakning frånmaterialen anses dock vara osäkra. Enligt analysen och de antaganden som råder skulle ®HASOPOR vara det material som är attföredra ur miljösynpunkt följt av gummiklipp och sist Leca. Detta material får också bästresultat när ett bredare perspektiv vägs med i analysen. Det bör dock påpekas att restmaterial endast i viss omfattning kan ersätta konventionellalättfyllnadsmaterial, främst beroende på de mängder som finns att tillgå. Slutsatsen är att det ur miljösynpunkt är lämpligt att använda ®HASOPOR och gummiklipp iapplikationer som tekniskt passar dessa material.The aim of this master thesis was to compare and estimate the environmental load fromdifferent lightweight materials in road constructions, with an environmental system analyticmethod. The analysed materials are Leca, ®HASOPOR and shredded tires. Leca is heatedexpanded clay and shredded tires are recycled car tires cut into small pieces. ®HASOPOR,also called foamed glass, is recycled glass which have been grinded to powder and thenheated together with a blowing agent which makes the material expand. Two questions are analysed in the assessment. The first one aims at getting the answer forwhich material, from an environmental point of view, is the best to use without consideringalternative utilisation of waste from glass and car tires. Here the production of the materials,transportations, road constructions and leach outs estimates. The second one has a widerperspective which includes how waste material should be taken care of in the society. In thiscase the waste materials are used glass and car tiers. Alternative utilisation of rest products arealso included. The method used in the report is Life cycle assessment and the materials are estimatedthrough characterisation and valuation. The characterisation has been done for globalwarming potential, acidification, eutrophication, photo oxidation formation, humantoxicological impacts and eco toxicological impact. In the analyse there is two valuationmethods used. The first one, EPS, is based on payment willingness and the second one,Erlandssons environmental assessment method, is based on the Swedish environmentalquality goal. The results show that, production of the materials and emissions from the materials when theyare used in the constructions are the activities which have the highest affect on the results.Data for leach outs from the materials is considered to be uncertain. According to the analyse and the assumptions which have been made, ®HASOPOR is thematerial which is preferable in an environmental point of view, followed by shredded tiresand last Leca. ®HASOPOR also get the best result when a wider perspective is considered inthe analyse. It should been noted that alternative light weighted materials can replace conventionalmaterials to a minor degree, mostly because of the quantities obtainable. A conclusion from the study is that there is a great environmental potential for using restproducts as light weight materials in applications that suits these products.www.ima.kth.s

The LDP at 50 : The Rise, Power Resources, and Perspectives of Japan\u27s Dominant Party

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 position and how did it manage to cling to it? In an attempt to answer these questions, this paper discusses the rise, the power (re-)sources and the perspectives of Japan’s dominant party.Die japanische LDP kann als Paradigmenfall einer dominanten Partei gelten. Während dominante Parteien in anderen Demokratien nicht länger an der Macht sind oder sich sogar aufgelöst haben, sitzen die japanischen Liberaldemokraten weiterhin an den politischen Schalthebeln. Wie kann der Erfolg der LDP erklärt werden? Wie erlangte die LDP ihre dominante Stellung und wie schaffte sie es, diese aufrecht zu erhalten? In diesem Papier wird diesen Fragen im Rahmen einer Diskussion der Hintergründe des Aufstiegs, der Erfolgsquellen und der Machterhaltungsstrategien der Liberaldemokratischen Parteien Japans nachgegangen. Abschließend werden die Perspektiven der LDP thematisiert

Campaigning for the Japanese Lower House: From Mobilising to Chasing Voters?

Electioneering for the Japanese Lower House has undergone significant changes in recent years. Not only institutional but also other environmental changes are pushing political actors in Japan to complement the hitherto dominant vote-mobilisation approach by vote-chasing strategies. Such strategies target in particular unaffiliated voters and emphasise party leaders. Yet, the notion of an 'Americanisation' of campaigning in Japan seems pre-mature at best. Notably, electioneering for the Lower House has become more party-oriented in the course of introducing new voter chasing strategies. It remains to be seen though whether specific campaign instruments and tactics used in recent general elections, such as the manifesto approach, can generate value-added in the longer term.Der Wahlkampf für das japanische Unterhaus hat sich in den vergangenen Jahren in bedeutsamer Weise verändert. Nicht allein institutionelle, sondern auch andere Umweltveränderungen veranlassen parteipolitische Akteure dazu, den bisher dominanten Stimmenmobilisierungsansatz durch Strategien zur Jagd auf Wählerstimmen (vote chasing) zu ergänzen. Solche Strategien zielen insbesondere auf parteiungebundene Wähler ab und rücken Parteiführer in den Mittelpunkt. Indes kann von einer 'Amerikanisierung' von Wahlkämpfen in Japan kaum die Rede sein. So sind Wahlkämpfe im Zuge der Einführung neuer Strategien zur Jagd auf Wählerstimmen tendenziell parteizentrierter geworden. Offen muss zunächst bleiben, ob spezifische Wahlkampfinstrumente und -taktiken, die bei allgemeinen Wahlen der jüngeren Zeit Einsatz gefunden haben - wie etwa der Manifest-Ansatz - nachhaltig Wirkung entfalten werden

Factionalism in Political Parties: An Analytical Framework for Comparative Studies

Factionalism can affect the stability and institutionalization of parties and party systems and it can impact on the efficiency and legitimacy of political parties and political systems as a whole. Nevertheless, factionalism has only received scant attention in the comparative literature on political parties. As this paper shows, there is no dearth of conceptual approaches and hypotheses which can readily be used to advance the systematic analysis of factionalism. We survey the relevant literature and offer a comprehensive analytical framework to stimulate comparatively oriented and nuanced studies of the causes, characteristics and consequences of intra-party groups.political parties, factionalism, party organization, electoral systems, party finance

Determinants of governmental redistribution

This paper investigates the major drivers of governmental redistribution. We retest the Meltzer-Richard hypothesis and account for a plethora of political, institutional, and cultural forces that influence the scope of redistribution. Extended and harmonized data on effective redistribution recently provided by the SWIID allows for the assessment of the origins of governmental redistribution for a broad sample of countries. Our results confirm the Meltzer-Richard hypothesis, indicating that the link between market inequality and redistribution is even stronger when using perceived inequality measures. We support the decisive role of the median voter, though also approving a crucial role of top incomes. Political and institutional conditions as well as cultural aspects significantly influence governments in their decisions regarding the amount of redistribution