The American governor: power, constraint, and leadership in the states

Abstract

This edited collection brings together a broad range of research on governors in the American states, examining governors as potentially powerful leaders who are subject to a range of constraints, as well as considering how individual governors may choose leadership paths that either enhance or detract from that power. The chapters build new models of the interactions between executives and other players within the states, examine the rhetoric of governors as a leadership tool, and generally put new and interesting emphases on governors with both detailed individual cases and larger-N studies. Governors are the political leaders of their states, with a range of powers and also constraints that differ from state to state and time to time. This very range makes the study of governors fertile ground for better understanding the American political system and the important role federalism plays in determining how policy develops and changes at all levels. The contributing authors look broadly at new research on governors, without the specific constraints of particular methods or focal points.