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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.

Democracy --- Local elections --- County elections --- Elections, County --- Elections, Local --- Elections, Municipal --- Municipal elections --- Election law --- Elections --- Law and legislation --- #SBIB:324H42 --- Politieke structuren: verkiezingen --- Ha, Shang E. --- Callen, Zachary. --- American 1 : --- General & Multiperiod. --- America. --- American government. --- American municipalities. --- American politics. --- bias. --- city council members. --- classical democratic theory. --- constitutive power. --- custodial performance. --- election results. --- electoral politics. --- grassroots politics. --- homevoters. --- incumbent. --- intermunicipal political exclusion. --- local community. --- local democracy. --- local elections. --- local governance. --- local government. --- local politicians. --- local politics. --- managerial democracy. --- municipal government. --- municipal governments. --- municipalities. --- national elections. --- national politics. --- political candidates. --- political dynamics. --- political engagement. --- political participation. --- population size. --- resource distribution. --- state elections. --- voter choice. --- voter turnout. --- voting behavior.

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A field experiment in rural Liberia is used to study democratic participation in fragile states. Fragile states are marked by political fragmentation, local patronage systems, and voter vulnerability. To understand the effects of such conditions on democratic expression through elections, the experiment introduced new forms of interaction between rural citizens and third-party actors: (i) civic education and town hall workshops directed by non-governmental organizations in communities over nine months and (ii) security committees that brought rural community representatives into monthly exchange with United Nations peacekeepers. Civic education workshops increased enthusiasm for electoral participation, produced a coordinated shift from parochial to national candidates, and increased willingness to report on manipulation. A program combining the two interactions had similar effects. The security committees had negligible effects. Barriers to political information and voter coordination appear to be important but resolvable problems for elections in fragile states.

Access to information --- Accounting --- Allegiance --- Anarchy --- Attrition --- Ballot box --- Banking --- Candidates --- Channels of communication --- Citizen access --- Civic education --- Civics --- Civil society --- Collective action --- Committees --- Community members --- Constituencies --- Constituent --- Constituents --- Crises --- Democracies --- Democracy --- Development economics --- Dictatorial regimes --- E-Government --- Economic conditions --- Economics --- Educational attainment --- Effects --- Election --- Election outcome --- Elections --- Electoral choices --- Electoral information --- Electoral participation --- Electoral systems --- Factions --- Forms of participation --- Free press --- Freedom --- Freedoms --- Governance --- Government --- Governments --- Incentives --- Income --- Information --- Innovations --- International peace --- Labor policies --- Law --- Liberty --- Literacy rates --- Loyalty --- Mobile phone --- Monitoring --- Monopolies --- Motivation --- Nation --- National elections --- Ordinary citizens --- Organizations --- Outcomes --- Parliamentary government --- Participants --- Participation --- Participation variables --- Party members --- Patronage --- Peace --- Pluralism --- Policies --- Policy issues --- Political authority --- Political behavior --- Political change --- Political culture --- Political democracy --- Political discussion --- Political economy --- Political information --- Political landscape --- Political leaders --- Political participation --- Political pluralism --- Political rights --- Political science --- Politicians --- Politics --- Politics and government --- Queen --- Representatives --- Rights --- Security --- Social protections and labor --- Terrorism --- Theory --- Training --- United Nations --- Value --- Vote choice --- Voter participation --- Voter turnout --- Voting --- Voting rights