Interest Groups and Lobbying: Pursuing Political Interests in America

Thomas T. Holyoke

Feb 2014 · Westview Press

About this ebook

Interest groups and lobbyists play a crucial role in how public policy is made in the United States' representative democracy. By helping citizens organize and pursue their self-interests in the political arena, interest groups and lobbyists are an alternative but very effective form of representation. However, the adversarial nature of interest groups often fuels voter discomfort with the political process. Interest Groups and Lobbying is an accessible and comprehensive text that examines the crux of this conflict. Pulling together two areas of interest group research—why advocacy organizations form and how they are able to gain influence in Washington, DC—Thomas T. Holyoke shows students the inner workings of interest groups in the United States. Using case studies to clarify and expand on the issues surrounding lobbying and group action in federal, state, and local government, Holyoke explores how we can use interest groups and their adversarial impulse to achieve the greatest good for the greatest number of people.

About the author

Thomas T. Holyoke is associate professor of political science at California State University, Fresno. He is the author of Competitive Interests: Competition and Compromise in American Interest Group Politics and journal articles published in the American Journal of Political Science, Congress and the Presidency, Political Research Quarterly, and American Review of Politics.