About the Author
Alan Greenblatt Alan Greenblatt is a GOVERNING correspondent.
The fifty states and the many cities and localities are about as diverse as can be—but why do they differ? And how do political scientists account for those differences? In a unique collaboration, political scientist Kevin Smith has teamed up with Governing magazine journalists Alan Greenblatt and Michele Mariani to provide the answers. In this comprehensive, well researched, and engaging text, the authors present the most current information on states and localities in fresh, accessible prose. Similarities between states make meaningful comparisons possible.
But their differences—in institutional structures, laws and regulations, culture and history, demographics, economy, and geography—provide the perspective students need to answer crucial questions about politics and government.