The local state: functionalism, autonomy and class relations in Cockburn and Saunders

Abstract

The term ‘local state’ seems to refer to an important dimension of social relations in advanced capitalist societies. It draws attention to the importance of local variation in state action, class relations and political consciousness, yet at the same time suggests the powerful influence of national states in these situations and implies that local differences do not wholly—or at all—stem from local causes. Unfortunately, the use and meaning of the term is unclear. This results from conflicting and imprecise ideas of the concept ‘local state’ in relation to historical events and in application to empirical research. Very often the term is simply swopped for ‘local government’ and seems little more than a radical rhetoric used to denote a non-traditional viewpoint. In this review paper we will examine two explicit attempts to provide a theoretical account of the local state in capitalist society, those of Cockburn ( The Local State, 1977) and Saunders (Chapter 4 ‘The question of the local state’ in Urban Politics, 1979). Our general conclusion is that neither of these theories of the local state are satisfactory. We will draw on this critique in the final section of the paper to suggest ways in which more use can be made of the concept ‘local state’ than just denoting a methodological approach or an area of social and political interest.