Fight Back: How States Can Counter Authoritarianism
About this ebook
“The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution . . . are reserved to the States.” —The 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
The concept of “states’ rights” has long been a rallying cry of American conservatives seeking to hold back progress ranging from civil rights to gun control and environmental regulation. Now, progressive scholars and activists describe what state governments can do to check an increasingly authoritarian federal government. At a time when there is widespread recognition of a need for ways to check the current presidential administration, the authors of these essays provide just that.
Contributors with expertise and practical experience on a wide range of topics explain in brief, accessible chapters the powers reserved to the states in areas such as election law, immigration enforcement, prosecuting federal officials, the state tax power, personal-data control, free speech, and more. They explain, for example, the “anti-commandeering rule” that allows states to resist federal overreach, and outline novel ways state law can be used to throw sand in the gears of illegal federal enforcement actions. They describe how doctrines created by conservatives to empower state governments can be used to stop repressive actions by the federal government.
In a book that will inspire and direct all manner of local initiatives, Fight Back offers the road map for meaningful resistance the country has been waiting for.
About the author
Aziz Z. Huq is the Frank and Bernice J. Greenberg Professor of Law and associate professor of sociology at the University of Chicago and former director of the Brennan Center’s Liberty and National Security Project. He is the author of several books including Unchecked and Unbalanced (co-authored with Frederick A.O. Schwarz) and has written for outlets including The New York Times, The Atlantic, and the London Review of Books. He lives in Chicago.
Erwin Chemerinsky is the dean of Berkeley Law School and the author of numerous books on the Constitution. He is a former president of the Association of American Law Schools, and in 2024, National Jurist magazine named him as the most influential person in legal education in the United States. The co-editor lives in Berkeley, California.
