Annexation Policy in Milwaukee: An Historical Institutionalist Approach

Theories of urban politics presume that effective governance in city politics requires coalition building between city officials and resource-rich societal actors. Following World War II, however, the city of Milwaukee pursued a successful annexation program by breaking with powerful organized interests with whom city officials had previously partnered in annexation policy. For a time, annexation policy was driven largely by local government officials acting independently of societal actors. While this period of local government autonomy was temporary, it produced several noteworthy developments in annexation policy that would not have occurred had the city failed to distance itself from organized interests. This article explores the conditions that facilitated this episode of local government autonomy and led to its demise. It suggests that contemporary theories of urban governance would benefit from greater attention to local government capacity and the role of time in shaping and reshaping urban political processes.