Ideology, Local-Level Policymaking, and International Governmental Organizations.

This article examines how political ideology influenced U.S. mayors' responses to COVID-19 guidance from the World Health Organization (WHO), an International Governmental Organization (IGO). Contrary to prevailing assumptions that policymakers view IGOs as neutral sources of expert advice, the study finds that mayors' likelihood of considering WHO recommendations and trusting WHO information was strongly shaped by their ideological orientation, with liberal mayors more likely to be influenced by and trust the WHO than conservative mayors. The analysis, based on a survey of 258 mayors from midsize to large cities, also reveals that political context—such as governor partisanship, state-level Trump vote share, and trust in state governors—further mediated these ideological effects. The findings suggest that subnational policymakers' engagement with IGOs is filtered through domestic political and ideological lenses, highlighting the need for future research to integrate local political dynamics into studies of international organizations' influence.