Brian Woodall
Retired Professor
- Sam Nunn School of International Affairs
Overview
Brian Woodall received his PhD from the University of California at Berkeley, and, prior to joining Georgia Tech's faculty, held full-time faculty positions at the University of California at Irvine and Harvard University. He has held visiting appointments at the University of Tokyo, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tohoku University, and Kobe University. He is the author of Growing Democracy in Japan (University Press of Kentucky), Japan Under Construction (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). His research and teaching utilize the tools of comparative institutional analysis to illuminate a variety of issues, including disaster governance, megaregion sustainability, and sustainable energy security. Dr. Woodall's recent work has appeared in Progress in Disaster Science, International Journal of Urban Sciences, Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives, and the Journal of Urban Planning and Development. He has received funding from the Fulbright 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. In addition, he serves as Director of the Japan Summer Program in Sustainable Development, Associate Director of the Nakatani RIES Program, and as a member of Kobe University's Board of Advisors.
- Ph.D., University of California at Berkeley (Political Science)
Distinctions:
- Member of Kobe University Advisory Board
- Fulbright Scholar (Japan)
- Abe Fellow (Social Science Research Council)
- Japan Foundation Dissertation Fellow
- Chancellor Dissertation Fellow (UC-Berkeley)
- Philo Sherman Bennett Prize in Political Science
Interests
- Clean Energy
- Climate Change Adaptation
- Comparative Politics: Regional Studies
- Cultural and Ethical Awareness
- Energy Efficiency
- Energy, Climate and Environmental Policy
- Global Energy Security
- Globalization: Political Economy and Governance
- Institutional Analysis
- Regional Security Challenges
- Transportation
Focuses:
- Asia (East)
- 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-2698: Research Assistantship
- INTA-3040: Energy Environ Policy
- INTA-3203: Comparative Politics
- INTA-3231: Gov't & Politics-Japan
- INTA-3232: Sustainable Megaregion
- INTA-4040: Environmental Politics
- INTA-4699: Undergraduate Research
- INTA-4744: Global Develop Capstone
- INTA-4803: Special Topics
- INTA-6202: Comparative Politics
- INTA-8001: Sci,Tech&Intl Affairs II
- INTA-8010: IAST Ph.D. Proseminar
- INTA-8803: Special Topics
- INTA-8813: Special Topics
- INTA-8823: Special Topics
- INTA-8833: Special Topics
Publications
Recent Publications
Journal Articles
- Institutional resilience and disaster governance: How countries respond to Black Swan events
In: Progress in Disaster Science [Peer Reviewed]
Date: May 2024
In a worldwide hazard environment exacerbated by the effects of climate change and the increasing interconnectedness of built and social systems, disasters are becoming more frequent, more destructive, and locally more variegated. Yet some communities are more disaster resilient than others. What explains this? This study employs institutional resilience as a lens through which to compare the responses to large-scale disasters taken by Australia, Japan, and The Netherlands, three affluent democracies with distinctive institutional arrangements. In so doing, we use the Swan Matrix as a yardstick for gauging the adaptive capacity of different systems of disaster governance. By focusing on human efforts to build resilience, we draw attention to contextual factors, particularly the type of institutional arrangement, which, our observations suggest, shape disaster governance. We conclude with a call for further comparative research into the major disaster governance systems in a hazard environment in which large-scale disasters are becoming commonplace.
- Effective Practices in Flood Adaptation by Recognizing System, Organization, and Project Interdependencies
In: Transportation Research Record [Peer Reviewed]
Date: February 2024
- Developing Transportation Resilience Adaptively to Climate Change
In: Transportation Research Record [Peer Reviewed]
Date: September 2023
- The Megaregion – Forms, Functions, and Potential? A Literature Review and Proposal for Advancing Research
In: International Journal of Urban Sciences [Peer Reviewed]
Date: March 2023
The megaregion is viewed as a platform from which to address a variety of issues. Despite agreement that a megaregion is a large, globally connected urban agglomeration, there is no consensus as to how to delineate its boundaries and how it differs from other urban forms. The scholarly literature is dominated by three distinct analytic approaches: interdependent systems, nodal linkages, and satellite data. We assess the utility of each approach in delineating the boundaries of four megaregions – BosWash, Greater Tokyo, the Amsterdam-Brussels-Antwerp region, and a Global South megaregion – and conclude by proposing a sequence of steps to guide future research.
- "Value-Focused Infrastructure Development: Affecting the Development of Shared Regional Prosperity" (co-author) [Peer Reviewed]
In: Journal of Urban Planning and Development [Peer Reviewed]
Date: December 2021
All Publications
Books
- Growing Democracy in Japan: The Parliamentary Cabinet System Since 1868
Date: 2014
Woodall, Brian, Growing Democracy in Japan: The Parliamentary Cabinet System Since 1868. Lexington, KY: The University Press of Kentucky, 2014.
- Elections and Campaigning in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan (co-editor and contributor)
Date: 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)
- Japan Under Construction: Corruption, Politics, and Public Works
Date: 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?
Date: 1993
Journal Articles
- Institutional resilience and disaster governance: How countries respond to Black Swan events
In: Progress in Disaster Science [Peer Reviewed]
Date: May 2024
In a worldwide hazard environment exacerbated by the effects of climate change and the increasing interconnectedness of built and social systems, disasters are becoming more frequent, more destructive, and locally more variegated. Yet some communities are more disaster resilient than others. What explains this? This study employs institutional resilience as a lens through which to compare the responses to large-scale disasters taken by Australia, Japan, and The Netherlands, three affluent democracies with distinctive institutional arrangements. In so doing, we use the Swan Matrix as a yardstick for gauging the adaptive capacity of different systems of disaster governance. By focusing on human efforts to build resilience, we draw attention to contextual factors, particularly the type of institutional arrangement, which, our observations suggest, shape disaster governance. We conclude with a call for further comparative research into the major disaster governance systems in a hazard environment in which large-scale disasters are becoming commonplace.
- Effective Practices in Flood Adaptation by Recognizing System, Organization, and Project Interdependencies
In: Transportation Research Record [Peer Reviewed]
Date: February 2024
- Developing Transportation Resilience Adaptively to Climate Change
In: Transportation Research Record [Peer Reviewed]
Date: September 2023
- The Megaregion – Forms, Functions, and Potential? A Literature Review and Proposal for Advancing Research
In: International Journal of Urban Sciences [Peer Reviewed]
Date: March 2023
The megaregion is viewed as a platform from which to address a variety of issues. Despite agreement that a megaregion is a large, globally connected urban agglomeration, there is no consensus as to how to delineate its boundaries and how it differs from other urban forms. The scholarly literature is dominated by three distinct analytic approaches: interdependent systems, nodal linkages, and satellite data. We assess the utility of each approach in delineating the boundaries of four megaregions – BosWash, Greater Tokyo, the Amsterdam-Brussels-Antwerp region, and a Global South megaregion – and conclude by proposing a sequence of steps to guide future research.
- "Value-Focused Infrastructure Development: Affecting the Development of Shared Regional Prosperity" (co-author) [Peer Reviewed]
In: Journal of Urban Planning and Development [Peer Reviewed]
Date: December 2021
- “Lessons from Case Studies of Flood Resilience: Institutions and Built Systems" (co-author)
In: Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives, Vol. 9 [Peer Reviewed]
Date: March 2021
- “Reflections on Pandemics, Civil Infrastructure and Sustainable Development: Five Lessons from COVID-19" (co-author)
In: Preprints 2020
Date: April 2020
- “Role of Socially-Equitable Economic Development in Creating Resilient and Sustainable Systems: COVID-19-Related Reflections" (co-author)
In: Preprints 2020
Date: April 2020
- Japan in 2019: Diplomatic Strains, Domestic Dilemmas, and a New Imperial Era
In: Asian Survey, Vol. 60 (No. 1, February 2020), pp. 47-60.
Date: 2020
- Japan in 2018: Abe Rule, Trump Shocks, and Mother Nature’s Wrath
In: Asian Survey, Vol. 59 (No. 1, February 2019), pp. 63-76.
Date: 2019
- The Development of China's Developmental State: Environmental Challenges and Stages of Growth (co-author)
In: China Currents, vol. 13 (no. 1), May 2014
Date: May 2014
"The Development of China's Developmental State: Environmental Challenges and Stages of Growth," China Currents, vol. 13 (no. 1), May 2014
- Japan's new basic energy plan (co-author)
In: Energy Policy, vol. 39, pp. 3741–3749, June 2011 [Peer Reviewed]
Date: June 2011
- Japan's Failure in Pharmaceuticals: The Toxic Effects of Price Controls (co-author)
In: Japan Studies Review [Peer Reviewed]
Date: 1999
- Japanese Drugs and the Unholy Trivumvirate (co-author)
In: Osaka Hoken-i Zasshi
Date: June 1997
- Career Concerns and Reform in Japan's Lower House Electoral System
In: Japan Studies Review [Peer Reviewed]
Date: May 1997
- US-Japan Trade and the Ultra-Strong Yen
In: Yutori
Date: May 1995
- A Call for Wisdom in Trade Negotiations: Exploring the Efficacy of 'Super 301' in US-Japan Economic Relations
In: The Economic Review
Date: 1995
- The Logic of Collusive Action: The Political Roots of Japan's Dango System
In: Comparative Politics [Peer Reviewed]
Date: April 1993
- A Mercantilist Triangle? Japanese Aid, Investment, and Trade in Asia
In: Inside Japan: Harvard's Japan Journal
Date: 1992
- The Venture Boom and Japanese Industrial Policy: Promoting the Neglected Winners
In: Asian Survey [Peer Reviewed]
Date: June 1985
- Response to the Japanese Challenge
In: Asia Pacific Community
Date: 1985
- Japan’s Failure in Pharmaceuticals: The Toxic Effects of
Price Controls"
In: Japan Studies Review
Chapters
- Democratization in East Asia
In: Routledge Handbook of Politics in Asia (Shiping Hua, ed.)
Date: 2018
- Japanese Political Finance and Its Dark Side
In: Parties and Politics in Contemporary Japan: Political Chaos and Stalemate in the 21st Century (Ronald J. Hrebenar and Akira Nakamura, Editors) [Peer Reviewed]
Date: 2014
- The Development of Japan's Developmental State: Stages of Growth and the Social Costs of Energy and Export Promotion Policies
In: East Asian Development Model: 21st Century Perspectives (Shiping Hua and Ruihua Hu, Editors).
Date: 2014
Woodall, Brian. "The Development of Japan's Developmental State: Stages of Growth and the Social Costs of Energy and Export Promotion Policies," book chapter in East Asian Development Model: 21st Century Perspectives (Shiping Hua and Ruihua Hu, Editors). London: Routledge, 2014. Pp. 101-120.
- Japan: Energy Efficiency Paragon, Green Growth Laggard
In: Can Green Sustain Growth?: From the Religion to the Reality of Sustainable Prosperity (John Zysman and Mark Huberty, Editors)
Date: December 2013
book chapter in Religion to Reality: Energy Systems Transformation for Sustainable Prosperity
- "Introduction" (co-author)
In: Elections and Campaigning in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan under the Single Non-Transferable Vote [Peer Reviewed]
Date: June 1999
- "The Politics of Reform in Japan's Lower House Electoral System"
In: Elections and Campaigning in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan under the Single Non-Transferable Vote [Peer Reviewed]
Date: June 1999
- Political Feasibility and Empirical Assessments of a Pacific Free Trade Area
In: Economic Development and Cooperation in the Pacific Basin: Trade, Investment, and Environmental Issues (Hiro Lee and David W. Roland-Holst, Editors) [Peer Reviewed]
Date: 1998
- Japan's Double Standards: Technical Standards and US-Japan Economic Relations
In: Japan's Technical Standards: Implications for Global Trade and Competitiveness (John R. McIntyre, Editor)
Date: 1996
- The Politics of Land in Japan's Dual Political Economy
In: Land Issues in Japan: A Policy Failure? (John Owens Haley and Kozo Yamamura, Editors) [Peer Reviewed]
Date: January 1992
- The Unshakable Money Base of Japanese Politics: Parties, Candidates, Donors and Corruption
Conferences
- America's Economic Policies in Asia
Working Papers
- Japan's Failure in Pharmaceuticals: Why is the World Saying 'No' to Japanese Drugs?
Date: 1997
- Political Feasibility and Empirical Assessments of a Pacific Free Trade Area
Date: 1996
- Japan's Double Standards: Technical Standards and US-Japan Economic Relations?
Date: 1995
- Inside Japan's Leviathan: Decision-Making in the Government Bureaucracy (co-author)
Date: July 1988
Interviews
- Interviewed on CNN International concerning the Sino-Japanese territorial conflict over the
Senkaku / Diaoyu Islands,
Date: September 2012
Interviewed on CNN International concerning the Sino-Japanese territorial conflict over the Senkaku / Diaoyu Islands,
Reports
- Inland Flood Risk and Municipal / Regional Resilience in Georgia: Data, Methodology, Case Studies & Recommendations (co-author)
In: AT&T Climate Resiliency Community Challenge 2021
Date: December 2020
Thesis / Dissertations
- Pork Barrel Politics in Japan: Trade Friction, Public Works, and the Triadic Syndicate, 1955-1988
Date: June 1990
- Japan's Textbook Revision Controversy: An Attempt at Interpretation
Date: June 1983
Other Publications
- Dango (Price-fixing)
In: Encyclopedia of Japanese Business and Management
Date: 2000
- Ministry of Construction
In: Encyclopedia of Japanes Business and Management
Date: 2000