Interest Group Politics

by Cigler, Allan J.

• ISBN13: 9781933116761
• ISBN10: 1933116765
• Edition: 7th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-12-15
• Publisher: Cq Pr

Summary

Interest Group Politics presents a broad spectrum of scholarship on interest groups past and present. In a time of partisan parity, when control of Congress is always within reach of the minority party at the next election, interest groups have every incentive to keep the pressure on. And they do. But the imbalance of influence that tilts toward moneyed interests is one of the cornerstones of the political system. What does this mean for equal representation? In nineteen chapters, noted political scientists explore the role of money, technology, grassroots lobbying, issue advocacy advertising, and much more in interest group influence. Students will learn how the National Rifle Association has become one of the most effective lobbying groups in America, what opportunities the openness of the American political process has offered ethnic groups both within and outside the United States, how the role of interest groups in elections has changed (including 527&BAD:rs"s), what effect religious organizations had in the 2004 elections, and how interest groups affect Supreme Court nominations.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. ix
Contributors	p. xi
Introduction: The Changing Nature of Interest Group Politics	p. 1
Group Organization
Targeting Success: The Enduring Power of the NRA	p. 37
Politics of Tribal Recognition: Casinos, Culture, and Controversy	p. 65
A More Level Playing Field or a New Mobilization of Bias? Interest Groups and Advocacy for the Disadvantaged	p. 86
Big-Money Donors to Environmental Groups: What They Give and What They Get	p. 108
Interest Organization Communities: Their Assembly and Consequences	p. 130
Groups in the Electoral Process
Getting the Spirit? Religious and Partisan Mobilization in the 2004 Elections	p. 157
Interest Group Money in Elections	p. 182
527s: The New Bad Guys of Campaign Finance	p. 212
Groups in the Policy Process
Nonprofit Organizations as Interest Groups: The Politics of Passivity	p. 235
Is Corporate Lobbying Rational or Just a Waste of Money?	p. 256
Identity Crisis: How Interest Groups Struggle to Define Themselves in Washington	p. 279
American Interests in the Balance? Do Ethnic Groups Dominate Foreign Policy Making?	p. 301
What Happened to the Japanese Lobby in Washington? The Decline of the Japan Lobby and the Rise of the New China Lobby	p. 322
Where Have All the Interest Groups Gone? An Analysis of Interest Group Participation in Presidential Nominations to the Supreme Court of the United States	p. 340
Emerging Issues, New Organizations: Interest Groups and the Making of Nanotechnology Policy	p. 366
The Well-informed Lobbyist: Information and Interest Group Lobbying	p. 389
Does K Street Run Through Capitol Hill? Lobbying Congress in the Republican Era	p. 412
Conclusion
Organized Interests, Political Parties, and Representation: James Madison, Tom DeLay, and the Soul of American Politics	p. 433
Index	p. 455
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