What powers and authorities do state and local governments have to serve as a check on federal overreach, and how can they be used to protect democratic norms and individual rights? In this series, leading legal scholars, historians, and political scientists examine a range of specific legal and policy tools available to state and local governments, and offer guidance on how they can be used to challenge repressive federal actions and to advance meaningful freedom and equality for conservatives and liberals alike. Taken together, the essays serve as a practical resource for state and local government officials, advocates, and experts.
The essays in this series were adapted with permission from The New Press, from the forthcoming publication Fight Back: How States Can Counter Authoritarianism edited by Erwin Chemerinsky and Aziz Z. Huq. We encourage you to visit this page regularly, as new essays will be added on a rolling basis ahead of the book’s 2027 release.
- Erwin Chemerinsky and Aziz Z. Huq, Introduction to “Fight Back: How States Can Counter Authoritarianism” Series (Aug. 20, 2026)
