Decentralization has triggered widespread use of the subnational comparative method in the study of Latin American politics. Simultaneously, it has created challenges for this method that deserve careful attention. While subnational governments after decentralization can often be treated as potentially autonomous policy jurisdictions, their autonomy is also subject to new constraints and incursions, which may limit scholars’ ability to treat them as relatively independent units. By taking stock of the vibrant literature that has emerged in recent years, this article explores three major challenges that complicate the use of the subnational comparative method. Two are vertical in nature: how to theorize national causes of subnational variation, and how the varied linkages between subnational governments and transnational actors can be conceptualized in work that compares subnational units. The third challenge is horizontal, referring to interactions between governments at the same subnational level that can either enhance or subvert autonomy.

中文翻译：

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拉丁美洲政治和地方比较方法：纵向和横向挑战

权力下放引发了地方比较方法在拉丁美洲政治研究中的广泛使用。同时，它给这种方法带来了挑战，值得仔细关注。虽然分权后的地方政府通常可以被视为潜在的自治政策管辖区，但它们的自治权也受到新的约束和入侵，这可能会限制学者将它们视为相对独立的单位的能力。通过对近年来出现的大量文献进行评估，本文探讨了使地方比较方法的使用复杂化的三个主要挑战。两个本质上是垂直的：如何理论化地方差异的国家原因，以及如何在比较地方单位的工作中概念化地方各级政府和跨国行为者之间的各种联系。第三个挑战是横向的，指的是同一地方各级政府之间的互动，可以增强或颠覆自治。