Book Review of Conservative Innovators, by Ben Merriman. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2019, 232 pp. $32.50 paperback

Di Gioia, Ilaria (2020) Book Review of Conservative Innovators, by Ben Merriman. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2019, 232 pp. $32.50 paperback. Oxford University Press.

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Abstract

What are the effects of the current political climate of hyper-polarization on intergovernmental relations? In Conservative Innovators, Assistant Professor of the University of Kansas Ben Merriman argues that polarization has “everything to do with state governments” and it has encouraged heightened intergovernmental disagreement. The main assumption of the book is that state-level conservative figures, such as state governors and attorney generals, have developed a repertoire of strategies to challenge the Obama administration’s policies during the years 2009-2016, which have transformed partisan disagreement into a conflict between different levels of government. This has been possible, Merriman argues, because the Obama era coincided with the consolidation of a long process in which the executive powers of state officials had grown along with the expansion of the federal government.

Item Type:	Other
Identification Number:	10.1093/publius/pjaa005
Dates:	Date Event 1 March 2020 Accepted 16 March 2020 Published
Subjects:	CAH15 - social sciences > CAH15-03 - politics > CAH15-03-01 - politics CAH16 - law > CAH16-01 - law > CAH16-01-01 - law
Divisions:	Faculty of Business, Law and Social Sciences > College of Law, Social and Criminal Justice
Depositing User:	Ilaria Di Gioia
Date Deposited:	14 Sep 2020 08:58
Last Modified:	03 Mar 2022 15:54
URI:	https://www.open-access.bcu.ac.uk/id/eprint/9888

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