ABSTRACT
Intergovernmental relations (IGR) describe significant changes in relationships among levels of government and among the officials who held important policymaking posts. IGR is viewed as a dynamic concept, which "pictures the intergovernmental relationship as one of constant change in response to social and economic forces as well as to changes in such significant political factors as the party and electoral systems". IGR increasingly serves as the conceptual basis for the analysis of interactions among units of governments and officials, even in nations without the formal features of federalism. Policy, financial, and political networks link the national government through state governments to local governments and create differing structures of program implementation. The chapter offers some selective illustrations of the principal forms of IGR in the United States and in other nations. IGR is generally characterized by reciprocal activity and interdependent choices among multiple governmental units and political interests.
