| This dissertation advances a unique account of political change in the United States by analyzing the changing way that political institutions (i.e. the two parties, campaigns) are integrated into local life. To this end, I draw upon a three year study of two cities in Iowa during the 2008 election cycle. The study included hundreds of interviews with local leaders and other citizens, archival and social network analysis of economic and civic dynamics, and participation in the daily working of Republican and Democratic presidential campaigns during the Iowa Caucuses and general election. My analysis shows how changes in the local economy have destabilized civic institutions that once lent their institutional capacity to political candidates during elections, thus making politics as we know it -- or rather knew it -- possible. Today, local life is increasingly dominated by networks of economic development, which are motivated by non-partisan "partnerships." Thus, local realities have become mismatched from national political institutions. By talking with campaign workers and regular voters, I demonstrate how this simultaneously makes traditional politics difficult and presents an opportunity for new kinds of political actors -- as exhibited by the (then) shocking success of the Obama campaign. |
