Home Rule Be Damned: Exploring Policy Conflicts between the Statehouse and City Hall

In a time of increasing political conflict, attention is inevitably focused on Washington and the Trump White House. However, there are other important institutional fights across the country that are equally, if not more, important. These fights engage cities versus state governments over issues including gun control, environmental policies, nondiscrimination policies, and immigration, to name only a few examples. While partisanship plays a role in these conflicts (Republicans hold a majority of state legislatures and governorships and cities are predominantly led by Democrats), also at stake is the strength and vibrancy of federalism and representation of citizens whose views may differ substantially from the rest of the state. This Politics Spotlight addresses and analyzes these local-state conflicts from an academic perspective. Our goal is to motivate research that engages several crucial questions about the nature of conflicts between city and state governments. How common are these conflicts historically? Which governments typically have the upper hand and why? How important are they in shaping political institutions and the lives of ordinary citizens? What are their causes and causal mechanisms? The contributions to this Spotlight address these questions but also shed light on new avenues for research. The first three articles provide a general overview of these conflicts, with some useful hypotheses about their sources. The next articles provide historical and legal context to the issue. Our final three articles offer specific cases of policy conflicts.