“Local Politics in a Global Era: Thinking Locally, Acting Globally”

Local politics is heavily weighted towards entrepreneurial economic development issues while questions of social policy are marginalized. This interpretation of “local politics in a global era” is criticized by those who view it as too reductionist because it assumes it is possible to “read off” local interests and institutional change from macroeconomic imperatives. Local politics is concerned with the ideas and interpretations to make sense of how and why globalization is defined as a “problem” for local communities. Reconsidering local politics in terms of globalization processes is yielding fresh thinking that promises to reinvigorate the study of globalization as well as analyses of localities. Despite the conflicting assessments of the two faces of globalization, there is broader agreement within the epistemic community on the institutional changes promoted by globalization practices. Although often seeming more rhetoric than reality, issues of local sustainable development are increasingly visible. They are one of the areas where transnational organizations are influential in American local politics.