In the context of food transition studies scant attention has been given to the role of state authorities (be they local or national) in destabilizing the dominant food regime. Specifically, little is known about how state-based regime actors use the power at their disposal to bring about change “from within”. Using a political economy approach and data from qualitative research with local government actors in 10 European cities, this paper explores the different power instruments utilized by (local) government authorities to undermine the material, organizational and discursive base of the (conventional) agri-food regime. What emerges from our research is that local authorities have used a mix of discursive, material and organizational tools to alter the dominant narrative around food and have reoriented material resources towards activities that support a new approach to food. Obstacles in this transition pathway lie in ensuring internal coordination within cities and vertical alliances with higher administrative levels.

在食品转型研究的背景下，很少有人关注国家当局（无论是地方当局还是国家当局）在破坏占主导地位的食品制度方面的作用。具体而言，人们对以国家为基础的政权行为者如何利用他们掌握的权力来“从内部”带来变革知之甚少。本文使用政治经济学方法和来自 10 个欧洲城市的地方政府行为者的定性研究数据，探讨了（地方）政府当局用来破坏（传统）农业食品的物质、组织和话语基础的不同权力工具政权。我们的研究表明，地方当局使用了多种话语，物质和组织工具来改变围绕食物的主导叙述，并将物质资源重新定向到支持新的食物方法的活动。这一转型路径的障碍在于确保城市内部的内部协调以及与更高行政级别的垂直联盟。