Brian Woodall

Professor

Member Of:
  • School of International Affairs
Office Phone:
404-894-1902
Fax Number:
404-894-1900
Office Location:
Habersham 146
Related Links:
Overview

Brian Woodall joined the faculty of the Sam Nunn School in 1994.  He received his PhD in Political Science from the University of California at Berkeley, and has held full-time faculty positions at the University of California at Irvine and at Harvard University as well as visiting appointments at the University of Tokyo, Tokyo Institute of Technology, and Tohoku University.  Dr. Woodall is the author of Growing Democracy in Japan: The Parliamentary Cabinet System Since 1868 (University Press of Kentucky), Japan Under Construction: Corruption, Politics, and Public Works (University of California Press), and Japan's Changing World Role (Japan Society), and co-editor of Elections in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan Under the Single Non-Transferable Vote (University Michigan Press).  In addition, he has authored numerous articles and book chapters, served as Chair of the Southern Japan Seminar, and serves on the editorial boards of Routledge Studies on Comparative Asian Politics and several academic journals.  He served for many years on the Board of Corporate Advisors to the Who's Who in Asian American Communities Foundation.  He has been interviewed on CNN, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, the Asahi Shimbun, and other media outlets.  His current research focuses on issues of sustainable development, including: 1) energy and environmental policies; and 2) the role of institutions in shaping transportation investment, equity, and regional proposerity.  Dr. Woodall has received funding support from the Fulbright Commission (U.S. Japan Educational Commission), Coca-Cola Foundation, U.S.-Japan Friendship Commission, the Abe Fellowship Program of the Social Science Research Council, the University of California Pacific Rim Research Program, and the Japan Foundation.  His teaching includes graduate and undergraduate courses in comparative politics, East Asia, Japanese politics and political economy, and U.S.-Japan relations.

Education:
  • Ph.D., University of California at Berkeley (Political Science)
Awards and
Distinctions:
  • Fulbright Scholar (Japan)
  • Abe Fellowship (Social Science Research Council)
  • Japan Foundation Dissertation Fellow
  • Chancellor's Dissertation Fellow (UC-Berkeley)
  • Bennett Prize in Political Science (University of Utah)
Areas of
Expertise:
  • Comparative Politics
  • Democratic Development
  • East Asia
  • Elections (Japan)
  • Energy Policy
  • Energy Security (East Asia)
  • Environmental Policy
  • Japan
  • Japanese Government And Politics
  • Political Corruption (Japan And East Asia)
  • Political Economy
  • Renewable Energy
Interests
Research Fields:
  • Clean Energy
  • Climate Change Adaptation
  • Energy Efficiency
  • Energy, Climate and Environmental Policy
  • Global Energy Security
  • Institutional Analysis
  • Regional Security Challenges
  • Transportation
Geographic
Focuses:
  • Asia (East)
Issues:
  • Energy
  • Environment
  • International Development
  • Regional Development
  • Infrastructure
  • Institution-Building
  • Sustainability
  • Transportation
Courses
  • INTA-2001: Careers In Intl Affairs
  • INTA-2050: Intro to Global Develpmt
  • INTA-2230: Govt & Politics of Asia
  • INTA-3040: Energy Environ Policy
  • INTA-3203: Comparative Politics
  • INTA-3231: Gov't & Politics-Japan
  • INTA-3232: Sustainable Megaregion
  • INTA-4040: Environmental Politics
  • INTA-4744: Global Develop Capstone
  • INTA-6202: Comparative Politics
  • INTA-8001: Sci,Tech&Intl Affairs II
  • INTA-8010: IAST Ph.D. Proseminar
  • INTA-8813: Special Topics
  • INTA-8823: Special Topics
  • INTA-8833: Special Topics
All Publications

Books

  • Growing Democracy in Japan: The Parliamentary Cabinet System Since 1868

    2014

    Woodall, Brian, Growing Democracy in Japan: The Parliamentary Cabinet System Since 1868.  Lexington, KY:  The University Press of Kentucky, 2014.

  • Growing Democracy in Japan: The Parliamentary Cabinet System Since 1868

    2014

    The world's third largest economy and a stable democracy, Japan remains a significant world power; but its economy has become stagnant, and its responses to the earthquake and tsunami of March 11, 2011 and the nuclear crisis that followed have raised international concerns. Despite being constitutionally modeled on Great Britain's "Westminster"-style parliamentary democracy, Japan has failed to fully institute a cabinet-style government, and its executive branch is not empowered to successfully respond to the myriad challenges confronted by an advanced postindustrial society. In Growing Democracy in Japan, Brian Woodall compares the Japanese cabinet system to its counterparts in other capitalist parliamentary democracies, particularly in Great Britain. Woodall demonstrates how the nation's long history of dominant bureaucracies has led to weakness at the top levels of government, while mid-level officials exercise much greater power than in the British system. The post--1947 cabinet system, begun under the Allied occupation, was fashioned from imposed and indigenous institutions which coexisted uneasily. Woodall explains how an activist economic bureaucracy, self-governing "policy tribes" (zoku) composed of members of parliament, and the uncertainties of coalition governments have prevented the cabinet from assuming its prescribed role as primary executive body. Woodall's meticulous examination of the Japanese case offers lessons for reformers as well as for those working to establish democratic institutions in places such as Iraq, Afghanistan, China, and the new regimes born during the Arab Spring. At the very least, he argues, Japan's struggles with this fundamental component of parliamentary governance should serve as a cautionary tale for those who believe that growing democracy is easy.
  • Elections and Campaigning in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan

    1999

    Woodall, Brian, Grofman, Bernard, Lee, Sung-Chull, and Winckler, Edwin (Eds.), Elections and Campaigning in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan.  Ann Arbor:  University of Michigan Press (1999)

  • Elections and Campaigning in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan

    1999

  • Japan Under Construction: Corruption, Politics, and Public Works

    1996

  • Japan Under Construction: Corruption, Politics, and Public Works

    1996

    Woodall, Brian, Japan Under Construction: Corruption, Politics, and Public Works. Berkeley:  University of California Press (1996).

  • Japan's Changing World Role: Emerging Leader or Perpetual Follower?

    1993

Journal Articles

Chapters

Conferences

Working Papers

Interviews

Thesis / Dissertations

Other Publications