The question of how to theorize power and the state has been a central concern of the field of women’s, gender, and sexuality studies, and the long history of privatization woven into state governance has shaped the form of activism addressing work, sexuality, political power, kinship, care, and much more. This special issue of WSQ examines how social movements have theorized, organized, and otherwise strategized around state formations, with a focus on the US and an understanding that state power and strategies of resistance are not limited by national borders.