Product details
- ISBN 9780226849041
- Weight: 454g
- Dimensions: 152 x 229mm
- Publication Date: 05 Oct 2026
- Publisher: The University of Chicago Press
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Hardback
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An astute, data-rich examination of the structural reasons that elections fail to hold US city officials accountable.
In the United States, hundreds of thousands of elected and appointed officials serve more than 50,000 subnational governments, making important decisions about services ranging from education to infrastructure to policing. The provision of critical city services shapes citizens’ everyday lives.
Supposedly, local politicians are the elected representatives closest to the people they serve, but are they actually accountable to their constituents? Justin de Benedictis-Kessner shows that they are not: local elections routinely fail to punish bad politicians or reward strong performers. The Fog of Accountability argues that this is because urban politics is defined by minimally effective competition, complex institutions that confuse voters, and a lack of effective media coverage. These institutional features combine to stymie even well-intentioned voters and make accountability difficult. Fixing these problems is challenging, but, as de Benedictis-Kessner shows, change is possible if we can enable citizens to reclaim and assert their political power.
Justin de Benedictis-Kessner is the Emma Bloomberg Associate Professor of Public Policy at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. His research has appeared in The American Political Science Review, American Journal of Political Science, Journal of Politics, and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
