Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: Subnational government organizations have long sought to influence national policy-making. Yet, our understanding of their interest representation, and function in national policy domains is, at best, limited. Such organizations have traditionally been thought to represent subnational-state interests, and to function as interest groups within the federal arena. A problem with this perspective is that it fails to consider that subnational government organizations are comprised of elite-state actors, whose ties to the nation-state make them qualitatively distinct from other interest groups. Of the many perspectives concerning political process and policy-making, state-centered approaches and neo-Marxist approaches have the most to offer from a theoretical perspective, because they consider the possibility that subnational government organizations may constitute either state or elite-class actors with regard to the policy-making process. In order to more fully understand the interest representation and function of these organizations, as well as their ability to influence national policy-making, I propose examining the efforts of the National Governors’ Association (NGA) to transform welfare policy, during the Reagan, G. W. Bush, and Clinton Presidencies. As leaders in the welfare policy domain, the NGA crafted new federal welfare legislation in 1988, the Family Support Act, and were key participants in the debates surrounding the (1996) Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act. Such research will contribute not only to existing studies on subnational government organizations, but also more broadly to our understanding of political process and policy-making within the United States.