Religion and the city: local governments as the flag holders of freedom from religion in Israel

Abstract

Under which circumstances local governments’ responsiveness to its residents’ preferences overtakes the central government’s accountability for public preferences at the national level in democracies? This study hypothesises that (1) A lacuna in public services at the national level due to institutional constraints, leading to (2) societal dissatisfaction as expressed by public opinion, as well as (3) local politicians in search for re-election, will lead local governments to account for public preferences. We further argue that local governments’ goal in accounting for public preferences is to follow the mayor’s personal ideology as well as enhance democratic values while predominantly improving their political gains. Using a mixed-method design, this study paints on the mechanism behind local initiatives to overcome policy restrictions on three religion-based policies in Israel. It demonstrates that efforts made by local governments to supply the lacking public services are an act of local responsiveness conjoint with political aspirations.