Nissan Institute/Routledge Japanese Stud Party Politics and Decentralization in Japan and France: When the Opposition Governs, (Hardcover)

Using Japan and France as case studies, this book argues that decentralization is fundamentally an "oppositional" policy advocated by political parties in opposition, placed on the legislative agenda when they come to power, and pursued at times even when it ceases to make partisan sense to do so. In short, decentralization occurs when the opposition governs.