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Explaining Local Policy Agendas

Institutions, Problems, Elections and Actors

  • Book
  • © 2022

Overview

Authors:
  1. Peter B. Mortensen

    1. Department of Political Science, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark

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  2. Matt W. Loftis

    1. Department of Political Science, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark

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  3. Henrik B. Seeberg

    1. Department of Political Science, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark

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  • Advances our explanatory models of policy agendas by studying them at the local level of politics
  • Provides new, important insights about the functioning of local politics that is gained by studying local policy agendas
  • Presents the first large-N study of how key actors in government influence local policy agendas

Part of the book series: Comparative Studies of Political Agendas (CSPA)

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Table of contents (7 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xii
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  2. Why Study Local Policy Agendas

    • Peter B. Mortensen, Matt W. Loftis, Henrik B. Seeberg
    Pages 1-17

  3. How to Study Local Policy Agendas

    • Peter B. Mortensen, Matt W. Loftis, Henrik B. Seeberg
    Pages 19-41

  4. Jurisdiction Size and the Local Policy Agenda

    • Peter B. Mortensen, Matt W. Loftis, Henrik B. Seeberg
    Pages 43-63

  5. Committee Structure and the Local Policy Agenda

    • Peter B. Mortensen, Matt W. Loftis, Henrik B. Seeberg
    Pages 65-94

  6. Local Problems and the Local Policy Agenda

    • Peter B. Mortensen, Matt W. Loftis, Henrik B. Seeberg
    Pages 95-118

  7. Local Elections, Local Actors, and the Local Policy Agenda

    • Peter B. Mortensen, Matt W. Loftis, Henrik B. Seeberg
    Pages 119-145

  8. Toward an Explanatory Model of Local Policy Agendas

    • Peter B. Mortensen, Matt W. Loftis, Henrik B. Seeberg
    Pages 147-168

  9. Back Matter

    Pages 169-194
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Keywords

About this book

Building on hundreds of thousands of systematically collected and content-coded local policy agenda observations, this book examines – theoretically and empirically - the policy agenda effects of four central aspects of any political system: the institutions that structure politics; the problems confronting the political system; the occurrence of regular and free elections; and the actors navigating the political system. Developing an explanatory model based on these four factors not only improves our understanding of the determinants of the local policy agenda but also contributes to a further integration of local government research, policy agendas research, and the broader discipline of political science. The book may be of particular interest to scholars and students of comparative politics, agenda setting, public policy, and local government.

Reviews

This is the first large scale empirical test of a theory of what determines the content of the governmental agenda. With hundreds of governments to compare, the authors have a unique opportunity to explore the determinants of government attention, not just to describe it. The results should be of interest to a wide range of scholars. Anyone who wants to know why governments do what they do should read this book.- Frank R. Baumgartner, Richard J. Richardson Distinguished Professor of Political Science, UNC at Chapel Hill



Peter B. Mortensen, Matt W. Loftis, and Henrik Bech Seeberg have written an important book, both for the study of policy agendas and for local politics. The subnational case study fills a crucial gap in our understanding of the world of agenda-setting behind national politics. It also provides a unique set of data to test out classic questions in urban politics and policy.

- Peter John, Professor of Public Policy, King’s College London


This inspiring book investigates classic questions in political science by means of innovative analyses of local government agendas. The book is essential reading for local government students and scholars. It provides important knowledge about how political systems at the local level work, and the rigorous analyses profoundly demonstrate how local level institutions and politics can and should be studied.

- Signy Irene Vabo, Professor of Political Science, University of Oslo

Authors and Affiliations

  • Department of Political Science, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark

    Peter B. Mortensen, Matt W. Loftis, Henrik B. Seeberg

About the authors

Peter B. Mortensen is Professor of Political Science at Aarhus University, Denmark. 

Matt W. Loftis is Associate Professor of Political Science at Aarhus University, Denmark. 

Henrik B. Seeberg is Associate Professor of Political Science at Aarhus University, Denmark.

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Explaining Local Policy Agendas

  • Book Subtitle: Institutions, Problems, Elections and Actors

  • Authors: Peter B. Mortensen, Matt W. Loftis, Henrik B. Seeberg

  • Series Title: Comparative Studies of Political Agendas

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-90932-1

  • Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham

  • eBook Packages: Political Science and International Studies, Political Science and International Studies (R0)

  • Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-030-90931-4Published: 27 January 2022

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-90934-5Published: 28 January 2023

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-90932-1Published: 26 January 2022

  • Series ISSN: 2947-8146

  • Series E-ISSN: 2947-8154

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XII, 194

  • Number of Illustrations: 31 b/w illustrations

  • Topics: Public Policy, Political Science, Governance and Government

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