Italy and Japan - How Similar Are They?

1 Introduction.- Part I Society and Demography.- 2 Italy's Population: A Portrait.- 3 Changed Discourses on Demography in Japan.- 4 Where Is the Forgotten Giant Heading to? The Current State and Future of Japanese Economics and Politics.- Part II Politics.- 5 Japan's US-'Imposed' Post War Constitution: How, Why and What for?.- 6 Italy: Birth of the Post War Constitution and the Republican Constitutional Order.- 7 Parties and Electoral Behaviour in Italy: From Stability to Competition.- 8 The Italian Election of February 2013: A Temporary Shock or a Harbinger of a New Party System?.- 9 Flocking Together? The Breakdown and Revival of Political Clientelism in Italy and Japan.- 10 Studying Electoral Engineering via a Double-Barrelled Natural Experiment: Comparing the Long Run Consequences of 1990s Electoral Reform in Italy and Japan.- Part III Economics.- 11 The Italian Economy 1961-2010: From Economic "Miracle" to Decline.- 12 Ageing, Debt, and Growth Crises: Two Forerunners.- 13 Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Italy and Japan.- Part IV International Relations.- 14 Japan's Search for a New Identity: Japan's Domestic Politics and Its Foreign Policy after the Cold War.- 15 Domestic Constraints, Governmental Instability and Italian Foreign Policy.- 16 Italy and Japan: The Price of Defeat in Post WWII International Relations.- 17 The Admissions of Italy and Japan to the United Nations: History and Diplomacy.- 18 Hosts and Hostilities: Base Politics in Italy and Japan.- 19 Italy and Japan as Security Actors: Still Free Riding on the US?.

Silvio Beretta has a degree in political science and is Professor of Economics and Finance at the University of Pavia. He is the scientific director of The Politician, published by the Faculty of Political Sciences, University of Pavia. The main topics of his research are the structures of decision-making procedures and organization in economies and the economic effects of internal and international migration, in each case with particular reference to Italy.

Fabio Rugge is Professor of the History of Political Institutions at the Faculty of Political Science at the University of Pavia, and since November 2005 he has also been Dean of the Faculty of Political Sciences at the university. He has authored or edited numerous national and international scientific publications, including books, articles, other contributions, and reviews. He is a member of the scientific committees of several journals. Professor Rugge's main field of study is the institutions of public administration and local government, viewed in a historical and comparative perspective. He has also published essays on legal and corporate communications history. In 2006 he was awarded the title "Commander of the Republic." Political Sciences, University of Pavia. The main topics of his research are the structures of decision-making procedures and organization in economies and the economic effects of internal and international migration, in each case with particular reference to Italy.

Fabio Rugge is Professor of the History of Political Institutions at the Faculty of Political Science at the University of Pavia, and since November 2005 he has also been Dean of the Faculty of Political Sciences at the university. He has authored or edited numerous national and international scientific publications, including books, articles, other contributions, and reviews. He is a member of the scientific committees of several journals. Professor Rugge's main field of study is the institutions of public