Course Description
Theories of interest group formation and maintenance. Lobbying and the role of interest groups in the United States governmental process, including traditional literature on pluralism and interest groups as well as modern literature addressing traditional questions and problems.
Athena Title
GOVT AND GROUPS
Semester Course Offered
Not offered on a regular basis.
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
This course introduces students to a broad scope of literature on interest groups in the United States. The goals for the course are divided into two broad areas. (1) The internal politics of groups are analyzed. Our goals are to become familiar with, discuss, and criticize theories about interest group formation and maintenance. (2) The changing role of groups in the American political system is analyzed. Our goals are to become familiar with, discuss, and criticize theories related to direct Washington lobbying, indirect lobbying or grassroots lobbying, and electioneering. To accomplish these goals, this course integrates an introduction to some of the traditional literature on pluralism and interest groups with an overview of how traditional questions and problems in those fields are addressed in more recent literature.
Topical Outline
Preliminaries: Factions, interest groups, pressure groups, organized interests, political interest groups I. Groups from the Inside Out 1) Incentives to Join and Group Formation. Collective Action Problems 2) Group Maintenance II. The Lobbying Scene in Washington 1) Direct Congressional Lobbying. Signaling Games 2) Direct Lobbying before the Executive Branch 3) Lobbying and the Judicial Branch 4) Lobbying beyond the Beltway a) Movements, Mobilization, and Grass Roots Lobbying b) Interest Groups and Elections, Parties, and PACs
Syllabus