Hostname: page-component-788cddb947-wgjn4 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-10-19T04:05:22.584Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

State Politics and Policy Quarterly and the Study of State Politics: The Editor's Introduction

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 January 2021

Christopher Z. Mooney
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

The American states provide, arguably, the world's most advantageous venue in which to test general propositions about political behavior and policymaking (Jewell 1982; Brace and Jewett 1995). One would be hardpressed to design a better system of polities for conducting political research. The states represent fifty units of analysis with broadly similar political structures, cultures, and populations, but with significant variation across a range of social, policy, and institutional characteristics important to many political theories. Unlike the examination of single units of government, such as the U.S. federal government, the variation in these characteristics allows scholars to test hypotheses of cause-and-effect relationships of political behavior and policymaking in a valid way. But unlike the comparison of different countries, the comparison of states does not produce so much variation that it overwhelms scholars' ability to identify relationships that might exist. Just as the states are a natural laboratory for public policy (New State Ice Co. v. Liebmann 1932), they are also a natural laboratory for testing hypotheses derived from political theory. Furthermore, the accessibility of state government officials makes quite feasible many research strategies that would be unthinkable in the study of federal officials and institutions.

Type
Research Article
Information
State Politics & Policy Quarterly , Volume 1 , Issue 1 , Spring 2001 , pp. 1 - 4
Copyright
Copyright © The American Political Science Association, 2001

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Barber, James D. 1965. The Lawmakers: Recruitment and Adaptation to Legislative Life. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Bowman, Ann O., and Kearney, Richard C. 1986. The Resurgence of the States. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.Google Scholar
Brace, Paul, and Jewett, Aubrey. 1995. “The State of State Politics Research.” Political Research Quarterly 48:643–681.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hedge, David M. 1998. Governance and the Changing American States. Boulder, CO: Westview.Google Scholar
Hyneman, Charles S. 1938. “Tenure and Turnover of Legislative Personnel.” Annals of the American Academy of the Political and Social Sciences 195:23–47.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jewell, Malcolm E. 1982. “The Neglected World of State Politics.” Journal of Politics 44:638–657.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Key, V.O. Jr. 1949. Southern Politics in the State and Nation. New York: Knopf.Google Scholar
Kingdon, John W. 1966. Candidates for Office: Beliefs and Strategies. New York: Random House.Google Scholar
Nagel, Stuart S. 1961. “Political Party Affiliation and Judges' Decisions.” American Political Science Review 55:843–850.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
New State Ice Co. v. Liebmann, 285 U.S. 262 at 311 (1932).Google Scholar
Wahlke, John C., Eulau, Heinz, Buchanan, William, and Ferguson, LeRoy C. 1962. The Legislative System: Explorations in Legislative Behavior. New York: John Wiley.Google Scholar
Weber, Ronald E., and Brace, Paul, eds. 1999. American State and Local Politics: Directions for the 21st Century. New York: Chatham House.Google Scholar