Description

The spouse in many societies frequently is credited as being the “better half,” or the nobler, more valuable half of the partnership in everyday life. However, as a partner within the context of a political life, the spouse often is undervalued as a political asset, operative, or “broker” of votes in the electoral arena.

This study evaluates the participatory (or non-participatory) role and the participatory consequence of the spouse—labeled the “spousal effect”—in local-, state- and national-level election campaigns in Japan. The research reveals the complex participatory “utility” of the spouse based on geographic region, generation/age, sex, political party membership, voter expectations, tenure in office and the level of elected office. Ultimately, the study credits the spouse as a critical player in shaping election campaigns, and thus electoral outcomes, in a manner similar to other members of an election campaign team.

Dyron Dabney is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at Albion College, Albion, Michigan. His research and teaching interests include campaigns and elections, political parties, political participation and elite politics. While specializing in Japanese politics, Dabney’s research and teaching interests invite comparative analyses of Japanese and American politics, culture and society. Dabney’s present-day research is motivated and informed by interdisciplinary studies that bring into focus gendered differences in political participation and behavior. His current research projects include an examination of spousal participation effects on election campaign outcomes in Japan and the U.S., and gender and election campaign corruption in Japan and the U.S.

Dabney holds a Ph.D. in Comparative Politics from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He is a Network for the Future Scholar of The Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation, an Advisory committee member of Japan Study, and a former Board of Directors member of ASIANetwork.