Robert Pekkanen

Robert Pekkanen is a professor at the Jackson School of International Studies and an adjunct associate professor of political science and sociology at the University of Washington. His research interests include electoral systems, political parties and civil society. He was a coprincipal investigator on a project exploring how electoral systems shape politics. Pekkanen has authored, coauthored or coedited six books on American nonprofit advocacy, Japanese civil society and Japanese elections and political parties. His first book, Japan’s Dual Civil Society: Members Without Advocates, captured the Masayoshi Ohira Memorial Prize in 2008 and was translated into Japanese. He earned his PhD in political science from Harvard University.