Local Elections and the Politics of Small-Scale Democracy
by
J. Eric Oliver - Shang E. Ha - Zachary Callen
Local government is the hidden leviathan of American politics: it accounts for nearly a tenth of gross domestic product, it collects nearly as much in taxes as the federal government, and its decisions have an enormous impact on Americans' daily lives. This book offers the comprehensive analysis of electoral politics in America's municipalities.
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Complete description
Local government is the hidden leviathan of American politics: it accounts for nearly a tenth of gross domestic product, it collects nearly as much in taxes as the federal government, and its decisions have an enormous impact on Americans' daily lives. Yet political scientists have few explanations for how people vote in local elections, particularly in the smaller cities, towns, and suburbs where most Americans live. Drawing on a wide variety of data sources and case studies, this book offers the first comprehensive analysis of electoral politics in America's municipalities. Arguing that current explanations of voting behavior are ill suited for most local contests, Eric Oliver puts forward a new theory that highlights the crucial differences between local, state, and national democracies. Being small in size, limited in power, and largely unbiased in distributing their resources, local governments are "managerial democracies" with a distinct style of electoral politics.
Instead of hinging on the partisanship, ideology, and group appeals that define national and state elections, local elections are based on the custodial performance of civic-oriented leaders and on their personal connections to voters with similarly deep community ties. Explaining not only the dynamics of local elections, Oliver's findings also upend many long-held assumptions about community power and local governance, including the importance of voter turnout and the possibilities for grassroots political change.
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General info
Publisher & Imprint:
Princeton University Press
City:
New Jersey
Pages:
234
More info:
height 229 mm
width 152 mm
weight 514 gr
thickness 23 mm
Subject Indexing & Classification
Dewey:(DC23) 324.973
Library of Congress Subject: Democracy - United States
Departments:
Elections & referenda; Local government;
Record updated at:
14 May, 2013
time:
18:56
Summary
Local Elections and the Politics of Small-Scale Democracy
Acknowledgments ix Introduction 1 Chapter 1 Size, Scope, and Bias: What Differentiates Local Electoral Politics? 12 Chapter 2 Who Votes in Local Elections? 53 Chapter 3 Who Runs for Local Office? 87 Chapter 4 Systematic versus Idiosyncratic Factors in Local Elections 116 Chapter 5 What Influences Local Voters? Electoral Choices? 149 Chapter 6 Rethinking Local Democracy 183 References 209 Index 215
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