Asahi Obata

I am a Ph.D. candidate in Political Science, specializing in the intersection of political behavior and comparative politics. My research investigates how interactions with government institutions shape political participation, with a particular focus on persons with disabilities.

In my job market paper, I examine how government benefits decisions affect electoral turnout in the United States and the Netherlands, noting that disabled individuals are disproportionately subject to high-stakes interactions with state agencies. Grounded in the policy feedback framework, I theorize that rejection generates negative affective responses toward state institutions, eroding political trust and external efficacy, and ultimately depressing subsequent participation. 

In my other work, I expand this framework to the broader (non-disabled) population, examining how routine, everyday interactions with the state, such as waiting in line to renew a driver's license, accumulate into a broader orientation toward government that influences political participation. I utilize a mixed-methods approach, combining qualitative fieldwork with quantitative tools such as large-N observational analysis and original surveys. 

Before beginning my Ph.D., I received an M.Sc. in Political Science from the University of Leeds (UK), and both a B.A. and M.A. in Political Science from Doshisha University (Japan).