The state politics literature: Moving beyond covariation studies and pursuing politics

Covariation studies of state politics have advanced our knowledge of variations in political cultures, institutions, actors, and policies among the U.S. states, but have remained marginal to the broader field of American politics. The study of state politics will become more central to the broader field only if it moves from a focus on covariation to a focus on explaining political processes and outcomes. It can do this only with a methodological shift from correlation to case study and comparative case study.