Interest groups and other "group concepts" of politics dominated explanations of American government and policy-making in the 1950s and early 1960s and, as filtered through the concept of pluralism, have provided what is arguably the most lasting and perhaps the most persuasive theorizing on political decision-making in the United States. Representing Interest Groups and Interest Group Representation explores both the strengths and weaknesses of the current research on interest groups. It points to what needs to be done, the major intellectual concerns that should guide the research, and some of the more productive ways to approach the significant research questions. Contributors: William Crotty, Robert H. Salisbury, Jeffrey M. Berry, Allan J. Cigler, John Tierney, Andrew S. McFarland, Virginia Gray, David Lowery, Kay Lehman Schlozman, and Mildred A. Schwartz. Co-published by arrangement with the Ray C. Bliss Institute of Applied Politics.
Synopsis
nterest groups and other group concepts of politics dominated explanations of American government and policy-making in the 1950s and early 1960s and, as filtered through the concept of pluralism, have provided what is arguably the most lasting and perhaps the most persuasive theorizing on political decision-making in the United States.
About the Author, William Crotty
William Crotty is Professor of Political Science at Tufts University. Mildred A. Schwartz is Professor of Sociology and Political Science at the University of Illinois at Chicago. John C. Green is Associate Professor at the University of Akron and Director of the Ray C. Bliss Institute of Applied Politics.
This brief but very readable manuscript raises numerous questions for further scholarly work throughout its pages. Anyone embarking on a new or revisited study should read every essay. Not only are the academic commentators challenging, the practitioners of the lobbying trade are as well.
Clive S. Thomas
Representing Interest Groups and Interest Group Representation combines an excellent overview of our present knowledge in interest group studies and suggestions for future research with perspectives on group activity by several types of lobbyists. Scholars and graduate students alike will find this a valuable resource as most of the material found in the volume is not available in other interest group texts.
