Skip to main content

Ellis Krauss

Professor Emeritus

Ellis Krauss is a leading expert on Japanese politics and U.S.-Japan relations. His research interests include Japan and the U.S. in Asia, Japanese foreign policy, domestic politics in Japan and the Japanese mass media.

Krauss is a professor emeritus of Japanese politics and policymaking at the School of Global Policy and Strategy. In 2019, Brookings Institution Press published his co-authored book "Reluctant Warriors: Germany, Japan, and Their U.S. Alliance Dilemma." The book examines how and why Germany and Japan have modified their military postures since 1990 so far, and assesses how far the countries still have to go—and why. The contributors also highlight the risks the United States takes if it makes too simplistic a demand for the two countries to “do more.”

Additional publications include “The Rise and Fall of Japan's LDP: Political Party Organizations as Institutions” (Cornell University Press, 2010) preceded by “Beyond Bilateralism: U.S.-Japan Relations in the New Asia Pacific” (Stanford University Press, 2004) and “Broadcasting Politics in Japan: NHK and Television News” (Cornell University Press, 2000). “Broadcasting Politics” was subsequently translated into Japanese and published as “NKH vs. Seiji” by Toyo Keizai Press.

After receiving his Ph.D. from Stanford University, Krauss was a visiting scholar at the University of Bologna, Italy and a visiting fellow at the Centre for the Study of Globalisation and Regionalisation at the University of Warwick, U.K. He has been a visiting scholar at several Japanese universities, and the Harvard University Program in East Asian Studies honored Krauss as their Distinguished Visitor for the 2014–15 academic year.

Education and CV

Ph.D., Stanford University, 1973
M.A., Stanford University, 1965
B.A., Brooklyn College of CUNY, 1964
CV

GPS Spotlight

Read more → GPS News

Publications of Note

In 2019, Brookings Institution Press published his coauthored book "Reluctant Warriors: Germany, Japan, and Their U.S. Alliance Dilemma." The book examines how and why Germany and Japan have modified their military postures since 1990 so far, and assesses how far the countries still have to go—and why. The contributors also highlight the risks the United States takes if it makes too simplistic a demand for the two countries to “do more.”

In 2010, Cornell University Press published Krauss's book, co-authored with Robert Pekkanen of the University of Washington, “The Rise and Fall of Japan's LDP: Political Party Organizations as Institutions.” In 2004, Krauss published a co-edited book with T.J. Pempel, UC Berkeley, “Beyond Bilateralism: U.S.-Japan Relations in the New Asia Pacific” (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2004).

His previous works include co-editing and contributing articles for Democracy in Japan and Conflict in Japan. He has written many articles published in professional journals dealing with political science and Asian Studies, including, recently, articles in the American Political Science Review, the American Journal of Political Science and the British Journal of Political Science, three of the top journals in political science, as well as in the Journal of Asian Studies and Journal of Japanese Studies, the major journals in Asian Studies.

Recent Publications

 

Journal Articles

"The Logic of Ministerial Selection: Electoral System and Cabinet Appointments in Japan," [coauthors: Robert Pekkanen and Benjamin Nyblade]. Social Science Japan Journal, Vol. 17, No. 1 (December 2013), pp. 3-22.

"When Do Interest Groups Contact Bureaucrats Rather than Politicians? Evidence on Fire Alarms and Smoke Detectors from Japan," [coauthors: Michio Muramatsu, Ethan Scheiner, and Robert Pekkanen]. Japanese Journal of Political Science, lead article, Vol. 14, No. 3 (September 2013), pp. 283-304.

"Over-nominating Candidates, Undermining the Party: The Collective Action Problem under SNTV in Japan," [coauthors: Kuniaki Nemoto and Robert Pekkanen]. Party Politics (published online July 2012; print forthcoming).

“Crisis Management, LDP, and DPJ style.” Japanese Journal of Political Science, Special Issue 02 (June 2013), pp. 177-199. 

“Reverse Contamination: Burning and Building Bridges in Mixed Member Systems," [coauthors: Kuniaki Nemoto and Robert Pekkanen]. Comparative Political Studies, Vol. 45, No. 6 (June 2012), pp. 747-773; (published online November 16, 2011). 

“Legislative Organization in MMP: The Case of New Zealand,” [coauthors: Kuniaki Nemoto, Robert Pekkanen, and Nigel Roberts]. Party Politics, Vol. 18, No. 4 (2011), pp. 503-521; (published online March 2011).

"The Rise and Fall of Japan's LDP," [coauthor: Robert Pekkanen]. The Journal of Asian Studies, lead article, Vol. 69, No. 1 (February 2010), pp. 5-15.

"Who Lobbies Whom? Special Interest Politics under Alternative Electoral Systems," [coauthor: Megumi Naoi]. American Journal of Political Science, Vol. 53, No. 4 (October 2009), pp. 874-892.

“Policy Dissension and Party Discipline: The July 2005 Vote on Postal Privatization in Japan,” [co-authors: Kuniaki Nemoto and Robert Pekkanen]. British Journal of Political Science, Vol. 38 (July 2008), pp. 499-525.            

“Japan’s New Security Policy,” [co-author: Christopher W. Hughes]. Survival, Vol. 49, No. 2 (Summer 2007), pp. 157-176.

Co-editor of journal special issue: “Managing the American MedUSA: Political Economy Alliance Perspectives,” [co-editors: Christopher Hughes and Verena Blechinger]. The Pacific Review, Vol. 20, No. 3 (2007).

“Electoral Incentives in Mixed-Member Systems: Party, Posts, and Zombie Politicians in Japan”, [link to krauss_publications_052006.pdf] [co-authors Robert Pekkanen and Benjamin Nyblade]. American Political Science Review, Vol. 100, No. 2 (May 2006).

Japan’s ‘‘Coalition of the Willing’’ on Security Policies, [co-author Robert Pekkanen]. Orbis, Vol. 49, No. 3 (Summer 2005).

‘Presidentialization’ in Japan? The Prime Minister, Media and Elections in Japan, [co-author Benjamin Nyblade]. British Journal of Political Science, Vol. 34 (April 2004), pp. 357-368.

"Explaining Party Adaptation to Electoral Reform: The Discreet Charm of the LDP?" [co-author: Robert Pekkanen]. Journal of Japanese Studies, Vol. 30, No. 1 (Winter 2004), pp. 1-34.

"The U.S., Japan, and Trade Policy: From Bilateralism to Regional Multilateralism Regionalism+". The Pacific Review, Vol .16, No. 3 (2003), pp. 309-331.

Recent Books

Reluctant Warriors: Germany, Japan, and Their U.S. Alliance Dilemma

The Rise and Fall of Japan's LDP: Political Party Organizations as Historical Institutions

Beyond Bilateralism: U.S.-Japan Relations in the New Asia Pacific

Broadcasting Politics in Japan: NHK and Television News

Background Notes

Krauss, along with Matt Shugart, and Robert Pekkanen, have recently received a half-million-dollar three-year grant from the National Science Foundation to study electoral reform and non-reform consequences on political parties’ candidate, party, parliamentary, and government appointment strategies in eight countries (Japan, New Zealand, Ukraine, Bolivia, U.K., Germany, Lithuania and Portugal).

In 2008, Krauss also received a Japan Foundation Fellowship to study the changing role of Japan’s prime minister. Additionally, he was invited to give a presentation at the Japan Political Science Association annual meeting on the topic of the study of Japanese politics in the U.S.

In 2003, Krauss was chosen as one of the six members of the "U.S. Knowledge Leaders" tour to Tokyo to interact with Japanese private sector, government, and cultural elites, sponsored by the Japan Federation of Economic Organizations' Keizai Koho Center.

In 1998-2000, Krauss received a prestigious Abe Fellowship to conduct research on the U.S., Japan, and APEC. In 1992-93 he was named "Distinguished Lecturer" of the Association for Asian Studies. He directed a National Endowment for the Humanities Seminar on "The Democratic Experience in Japan" in 1994.

Krauss is on advisory boards of several journals and important committees of national organizations in the field of Asian and Japanese Studies. He joined GPS in 1995. 

Professional Activities

Member, Advisory Board, The Japan Foundation, 2002-06
Member, Editorial Board, The Pacific Review, 2001-present
Member, Advisory Board, Asian Survey, 1997-present
Member, Advisory Board, Journal of Japanese Studies, 1992-95 and 2001-present
Member, Executive Committee, Japan Politics Research Group, 1998-present
Member, Screening Committee [for faculty hiring], Hiroshima Peace Institute (Japan) 2000-present
Member, Editorial Board, Social Science Japan Forum
Member, Evaluation Committee of the East Asian Program, University of Washington, 2008, 2005, 2001; and the University of Sheffield (U.K.) 2003
Board of Directors, Japan Policy Research Institute, 1994-present

"Reluctant Warriors: Germany, Japan, and Their U.S. Alliance Dilemma." 
Alexandra Sakaki, Hanns W. Maull, Kerstin Lukner, Ellis S. Krauss and Thomas U. Berger
Brookings Institution Press (2019)

"The Rise and Fall of Japan's LDP: Political Party Organizations as Historical Institutions"
Ellis Krauss (UC San Diego) and Robert J. Pekkanen (University of Washington)
Cornell University Press (2010)