Tools of Subnational Democratic Subversion: A Taxonomy and Research Agenda

Andrea Louise Campbell and Andrew Karch

Publius: The Journal of Federalism, 2026, vol. 56, issue 1, 49-67

Abstract: In an era of heightened partisan polarization, subnational officials in the United States have adopted a variety of tools that attenuate the connection between citizen preferences, election results, and policy outcomes. Building on recent scholarship in American and comparative politics, we identify promising avenues for future research on subnational democratic subversion. First, we broaden the list of tools beyond election administration and districting practices, adding undemocratic techniques that operate through the policymaking process. Second, we encourage scholars to shift their focus from the adoption of these tools to their potential durability, which we posit depends partly on the combinations and sequences in which they are adopted. Third, we hypothesize that alternative institutional venues, including direct democracy and judicial elections, can help prevent the entrenchment of undemocratic practices adopted (most commonly) by state legislatures. Such research will illuminate both contemporary trends in the United States and the general connection between federalism and democracy.

Keywords: federalism; democratic backsliding; United States; durability; institutional venues (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/publius/pjaf071 (application/pdf)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:oup:publus:v:56:y:2026:i:1:p:49-67.

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://academic.oup.com/journals

Access Statistics for this article

Publius: The Journal of Federalism is currently edited by Paul Nolette and Philip Rocco

More articles in Publius: The Journal of Federalism from CSF Associates Inc. Oxford University Press, Great Clarendon Street, Oxford OX2 6DP, UK.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Oxford University Press ().