John Ishiyama

John Toaru Ishiyama (born 1960) is an American political scientist. He is a University Distinguished Research Professor of Political Science, and Chairperson of the Department of Political Science. He is also the Piper Professor of Texas at the University of North Texas. He studies comparative politics, particularly the party structure and democratization of Post-Soviet states, as well as the politics of Ethiopia. He is a past President of the American Political Science Association.

Life

Education Ishiyama grew up in Parma, Ohio. He has credited his decision to become a political scientist with an early interest in how things change and evolve. He then pursued an MA at the University of Michigan's Center for Russian and East European Studies, graduating in 1985. His 2009 article "The Politics of Intercountry Adoption: Explaining Variation in the Legal Requirements of Sub-Saharan African Countries" in Perspectives on Politics won the Heinz Eulau Award for the best article published in the American Political Science Review and Perspectives on Politics each year. He was previously the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Political Science Education, which is the journal of the education section of the American Political Science Association, from 2004 until 2012. That year Ishiyama also received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Political Science section of the American Political Science Association. Ishiyama was the American Political Science Association's member of the month in July 2019, In 2020, Ishiyama was given the Eminent Faculty Award from the University of North Texas Foundation.

Ishiyama's work has been cited, or he has been quoted, in media outlets like The Washington Post, Vox, and The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Selected works "The Politics of Intercountry Adoption: Explaining Variation in the Legal Requirements of Sub-Saharan African Countries" in Perspectives on Politics (2009) Comparative Politics: Principles of Democracy and Democratization (2012) "Civil Wars and Party Systems", Social Science Quarterly (2014)

Selected awards Frank Johnson Goodnow Award, American Political Science Association (2018) Lifetime Achievement Award, American Political Science Association Political Science section (2018) Eminent Faculty Award, University of North Texas Foundation (2020)