His research and teaching interests include campaigns and elections, political parties, political participation and elite politics. While specializing in Japanese politics, Dabney's research and teaching interests invite comparative analysis of East Asian politics and culture and American politics. Dabney' present-day research is motivated and informed by interdisciplinary studies that bring into focus gendered differences in political participation and behavior. His current research projects include an examination of spousal participation effects on election campaign outcomes in Japan and the U.S., and gender and election campaign corruption in Japan and the U.S. Dabney was awarded the Professor of the Year Student Choice Award by the Albion College Student Senate in 2013.