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Power, politics, and participation
Descriptive
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Title
Power, politics, and participation
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the impact of municipal takeover on local democracy
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Nickels
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Ashley Elizabeth
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Ashley Elizabeth Nickels
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author
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Harris
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Richard A
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Richard A Harris
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Advisory Committee
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chair
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Minnite
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Lorraine C
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Lorraine C Minnite
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Advisory Committee
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internal member
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Blessett
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Brandi
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Brandi Blessett
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Advisory Committee
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internal member
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Rutgers University
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degree grantor
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Camden Graduate School
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school
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theses
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2016
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2016-05
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2016
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xx
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eng
Abstract
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This research focused on the ways in which municipal takeovers reshape local democracy, not only by suspending representative government, but disrupting the existing order and creating opportunities and incentives that shift power in the local political system. The primary question that guided this research was: how, through its implementation, does municipal takeover policy reshape local democracy? Drawing from a constructivist-institutionalist framework, I found that the tools and strategies designed by the state to fix a local government’s fiscal health have both instrumental and symbolic effects, which restructured who, and by what means residents, groups, and organizations, participated politically. To answer the question about how municipal takeover policy reshapes local democracy and to identify the causal mechanisms that explain how municipal takeover can alter the local political system, this project utilized a policy-centered case study of Flint, Michigan, a city most recently in the news for lead contamination in its water. Michigan has one of the most aggressive policies for addressing local fiscal crises in the United States; state law effectively suspends the governing authority of local elected officials and puts in place state-appointed Emergency Managers. My analysis drew on documentary evidence from state and local government, news media, and Flint-focused urban histories; fieldwork conducted during the summer of 2015, at which time I interacted with many residents and local stakeholders; and 35 semi-structured interviews. Information gleaned from the data was analyzed using both interpretive and process tracing tools. This study shows that municipal takeover policy had a significant impact on local democracy in Flint. I found that the policy, when implemented, disparately impacted members of the community: benefiting some, while burdening others. How residents made meaning of takeovers was related to how they responded politically. As a result of changes in participatory access, allocation of resources, and their perception of the takeover, opponents of the policy created and utilized new pathways to power, undermining the inherent lack of democratic participation provided under takeovers and ameliorating the symbolic effects of the perceived threat to democracy.
Subject
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Topic
Public Affairs
Subject
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Topic
Municipal government
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Topic
Local government
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Rutgers University Electronic Theses and Dissertations
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Note
Supplementary File: City of Flint Ward and Precinct Map, 2010
Extent
1 online resource (xi, 196 p. : ill.)
Note
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Ph.D.
Note
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Includes bibliographical references
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Includes vita
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(type = statement of responsibility)
by Ashley Elizabeth Nickels
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Camden Graduate School Electronic Theses and Dissertations
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rucore10005600001
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doi:10.7282/T3M32XW9
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ETD doctoral
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Rights
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The author owns the copyright to this work.
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Name
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Nickels
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Ashley
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Elizabeth
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Permission or license
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2016-05-02 10:49:13
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Ashley Nickels
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Rutgers University. Camden Graduate School
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Author Agreement License
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I hereby grant to the Rutgers University Libraries and to my school the non-exclusive right to archive, reproduce and distribute my thesis or dissertation, in whole or in part, and/or my abstract, in whole or in part, in and from an electronic format, subject to the release date subsequently stipulated in this submittal form and approved by my school. I represent and stipulate that the thesis or dissertation and its abstract are my original work, that they do not infringe or violate any rights of others, and that I make these grants as the sole owner of the rights to my thesis or dissertation and its abstract. I represent that I have obtained written permissions, when necessary, from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis or dissertation and will supply copies of such upon request by my school. I acknowledge that RU ETD and my school will not distribute my thesis or dissertation or its abstract if, in their reasonable judgment, they believe all such rights have not been secured. I acknowledge that I retain ownership rights to the copyright of my work. I also retain the right to use all or part of this thesis or dissertation in future works, such as articles or books.
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2017-06-15
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2018-05-31
Type
Embargo
Detail
Access to this PDF has been restricted at the author's request. It will be publicly available after May 31, 2018.
Copyright
Status
Copyright protected
Availability
Status
Open
Reason
Permission or license
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