2019 Fiscal Year Research-status Report

Explaning Media Freedom Decline in Democracies

Research Project

Project/Area Number	17K03565
Research Institution	Waseda University
Principal Investigator	Kellam Marisa.A 早稲田大学, 政治経済学術院, 准教授 (30711866)
Project Period (FY)	2017-04-01 – 2021-03-31
Keywords	Comparative Politics / Democracy / Media Freedom / Accountability / Representation
Outline of Annual Research Achievements	During FY 2019, I focused on wrapping up my research project, sharing my findings, and planning for future research which builds upon this project.I planned and co-hosted a symposium at Waseda on “Democracy in Latin America: Presidents, Legislatures and Elections,” which brought together leading scholars from Latin America, the USA, and Japan to discuss current research on the quality of accountability and representation in this region. This symposium also gave me the opportunity to consult with Javier Corrales (Amherst College), an expert on presidents in Latin America, and to plan future collaborative research with Eduardo Aleman (University of Houston), an expert on legislative institutions and political parties in Latin America. In addition, I planned a research trip to UCLA and UC Riverside to meet with preeminent scholars of comparative politics for research consultation and collaboration on a larger project to study how democracies change and what makes the vulnerable to backsliding. Unfortunately this trip was canceled due to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus.
Current Status of Research Progress	Current Status of Research Progress 3: Progress in research has been slightly delayed. Reason Due to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, my research trip was canceled. In addition, my research assistants went overseas during the February-March break, and were not able to return to Japan. While we continued to work virtually, it slowed down our progress.
Strategy for Future Research Activity	During FY 2020, I would still like to make my research trip to UCLA and UC Riverside, if possible. However, if this is not possible, I will redirect the funds to advance my research in other ways. I recently have begun a project with two doctoral students at Waseda University to study the role of populism in democratic backsliding in Europe, Latin America and Asia. I plan to hire these students as research assistants to help build a global database of populist leaders, electoral outcomes, economic indicators and democracy measures.
Causes of Carryover	Due to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, I had to cancel my research trip. If possible, I will re-schedule the trip for FY 2020. Otherwise, I will use the funds to hire research assistants.