Institute of Social Science The University of Tokyo

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Kenneth Mori McElwain

Division Department of Comparative Contemporary Politics
Research fields Political Institutions, Public Opinion
e-mail mcelwainiss.u-tokyo.ac.jp
CV McElwain CV May 2021.pdf[173KB]
Homepage http://www.kennethmcelwain.com/

Teaching and Research Appointments

1999 AB, Princeton University
2005 PhD, Stanford University
2005 - 2006 Postdoctoral Fellow, Harvard University
2006 - 2008 Lecturer, Stanford University
2008 - 2015 Assistant Professor, University of Michigan
2015 - 2019 Associate Professor, Institute of Social Science, The University of Tokyo
2019 - Professor, Institute of Social Science, The University of Tokyo

Topics of research

1Comparative Constitutional Design
2Public Opinion and Partisanship in Japan
3Determinants of Party Manifestos

Selected publications

  • “The Proposer or the Proposal? An Experimental Analysis of Constitutional Beliefs.” Japanese Journal of Political Science 22 (1):15-39 (with Shusei Eshima, and Christian G. Winkler), 2021.
  • “The bright and dark sides of social media usage during the COVID-19 pandemic: Survey evidence from Japan.” International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction 54:102034 (with Susumu Cato, Takashi Iida, Kenji Ishida, Asei Ito, Hiroto Katsumata, and Masahiro Shoji), 2021.
  • “Social distancing as a public good under the COVID-19 pandemic.” Public Health 188:51-53 (with Susumu Cato, Takashi Iida, Kenji Ishida, Asei Ito, and Masahiro Shoji), 2020.
  • “The Japanese Constitution.” In The Oxford Handbook of Japanese Politics, edited by Robert J. Pekkanen and Saadia M. Pekkanen. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2021.
  • “When Candidates Are More Polarised than Voters: Constitutional Revision in Japan." European Political Science. 2020.
  • “The Perils and Virtues of Constitutional Flexibility: Japan’s Constitution and the Liberal International Order." In Y. Funabashi and J. Ikenberry (Eds). The Crisis of Liberal Internationalism: Japan and the World Order. Brookings Institution Press. 2020, pp 303-323.
  • “Japan and the Liberal International Order: A Survey Experiment." In Y. Funabashi and J. Ikenberry (Eds). The Crisis of Liberal Internationalism: Japan and the World Order. Brookings Institution Press. 2020, pp 359-376 (With Adam P. Liff.)
  • “Constitutional Revision in the 2017 Election”, In Robert J. Pekkanen, Steven R. Reed, Ethan Scheiner, and Daniel Smith, eds. Japan Decides 2017: The Japanese General Election. Palgrave Macmillan. 2018.
  • “Party System Institutionalization in Japan”. In A. Hicken & E. Kuhonta (Eds.), Reexamining Party System Institutionalization through Asian Lenses. Cambridge University Press. 2014, pp. 74-107.
  • “Parties and Elections”. In J. Babb (Ed.), The SAGE Handbook of Modern Japanese Studies. London: SAGE Publications. 2014, pp. 367-391.
  • “What's Unique about Japan's Constitution? A Comparative and Historical Analysis”. (with Christian Winkler) Journal of Japanese Studies, 41(2), 2015.
  • “The Nationalization of Japanese Elections”. Journal of East Asian Studies, 12(3), 2012, pp. 323-350.
  • “Party Democratization and the Salience of Party Leaders”. (with Michio Umeda) Journal of Social Science (Shakai Kagaku Kenkyu), 62(1), 2011, pp. 173-193.
  • Political Change in Japan: Electoral Behavior, Party Realignment, and the Koizumi Reforms. (Co-Edited Steven R. Reed and Kay Shimizu) Palo Alto: Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center. 2009.
  • “Manipulating Electoral Rules to Manufacture Single Party Dominance”. American Journal of Political Science, 52(1), 2008, pp. 32-47.

Educational Activities

Graduate School of Law and Politics,
The University of Tokyo		 Comparative Politics (Special Study)