RIGOs are not governments themselves, but as Miller and Nelles demonstrate, they do have a measure of political authority that allows them to quietly and sometimes almost invisibly work to further regional interests and mitigate cross-boundary irritations. Providing a new conceptual framework for understanding how regional decision-making has emerged in the U.S., this book will provoke a new and rich era of discussion about American regionalism in theory and practice. Discovering American Regionalism will be a future classic in the study of intergovernmental relations, regionalism, and cross-boundary collaboration.
David Miller is Professor of Public Policy and Management at the University of Pittsburgh’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs (GSPIA), USA.
Jen Nelles is Visiting Associate Professor in the Department Urban Public Policy at Hunter College (CUNY), USA.