A policy-focused approach to understanding the role of interest groups in US municipal governments.
Local politics in the United States once seemed tranquil compared to the divisiveness and dysfunction of the country's national politics. Those days have passed. As multiple wide-ranging crises have thrust America's local governments into the spotlight, they have also exposed policy failures and systemic problems that have mounted for years. While issues such as policing and the cost of housing are debated nationally, much of the policymaking surrounding these issues occurs locally. In Local Interests, Sarah F. Anzia explores how local governments-and the interest groups that try to influence them-create the policies that drive the national conversation: policing, economic development, housing, and challenges of taxing and spending.
Anzia examines local interest groups in terms of the specific policies they pursue, including how these groups get active in politics and what impact they have. By offering new perspectives on these issues, Anzia contributes to our knowledge of how interest groups function and the significant role they play in shaping broader social outcomes.
Sarah F. Anzia is associate professor of public policy and political science at the University of California, Berkeley. She is the author of Timing and Turnout: How Off-Cycle Elections Favor Organized Groups.
Title: Local Interests: Politics, Policy, and Interest Groups in US City Governments
Author: Anzia, Sarah F.
ISBN: 9780226819273
Binding:
Publisher: The University of Chicago Press
Publication Date: 2022-04-29
Number of Pages: 312
Weight: 0.6307 kg
An incredibly important, field changing book. Anzia offers a completely novel description of what goes on in modern city politics. She effectively counters the (persistent) belief that local government activity is apolitical, custodial, or issueless by showing that groups have identifiable interests in local policy outcomes, and that they actively work to achieve those goals. Anzia is a gifted writer and an even more gifted thinker; she offers deep insights in every chapter. -- Jessica Trounstine, University of California, Merced
Local Interests will be the definitive account of interest group influence in local government. The book is original and sound, assessing the relationships between the strength of business, labor, and other groups and public policy choices-from hot topics like police body cameras to less salient but critical areas like business tax incentives. -- Matt Grossmann, Michigan State University