Course Description
Focus on the creation, organization, and maintenance of interest groups; group lobbying activity in Washington, DC; and group campaign activity throughout the United States.
Athena Title
INTEREST GROUPS
Equivalent Courses
Not open to students with credit in POLS 4540
Prerequisite
(POLS 1101 or POLS 1105H) and permission of Honors
Semester Course Offered
Not offered on a regular basis.
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
The course has three broad goals: The first goal is to become familiar with, discuss, and criticize theories about interest group formation and maintenance. Many of the classics in political science address these issues. Students will be guided through a set of original readings on the topics. The second goal is to understand the role of groups in the U.S. political system. The role for groups in the U.S. system has evolved over the history of the country. Students will be able to view that changing role from an historical perspective. The third goal is to develop an in-depth knowledge of the tactics and behaviors of groups as they lobby in Washington and campaign throughout the U.S. Some of the most important recent work in this area introduces game theoretic reasoning to model lobbyist/legislator interactions.
Topical Outline
I. Political Science and the Study of Interest Groups A. Interests and Groups 1. Understanding the Roles of Bentley and Truman for Political Science 2. Understanding the Role of Latham for Political Science B. The Constellation of Interests 1. Pluralism 2. Critics of Pluralism C. Collective Action Problems 1. Olson’s Critique of Truman 2. Incentives for Collective Action 3. Interest Group Entrepreneurs 4. Internal Group Governance II. The Evolution of Interest Groups in U.S. Politics A. Private Interests in Public Spheres B. The Right to Petition and the Rise of Group Lobbying III. Interest Groups as Actors in Politics A. Congressional Lobbying B. Executive Branch Lobbying C. Interest Groups and the Judicial Branch D. Grassroots Lobbying and Electoral Politics
Syllabus