Competitive Interests: Competition and Compromise in American Interest Group Politics (American Governance and Public Policy series) - Softcover

Holyoke, Thomas T.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 158901779X ISBN 13: 9781589017795

Publisher: Georgetown University Press, 2011

Synopsis

"Competitive Interests" does more than simply challenge the long -held belief that a small set of interests control large domains of the public policy making landscape. It shows how the explosion in the sheer number of new groups, and the broad range of ideological demands they advocate, have created a form of group politics emphasizing compromise as much as conflict. Thomas T. Holyoke offers a model of strategic lobbying that shows why some group lobbyists feel compelled to fight stronger, wealthier groups even when they know they will lose. Holyoke interviewed 83 lobbyists who have been advocates on several contentious issues, including Arctic oil drilling, environmental conservation, regulating genetically modified foods, money laundering, and bankruptcy reform. He offers answers about what kinds of policies are more likely to lead to intense competition and what kinds of interest groups have an advantage in protracted conflicts. He also discusses the negative consequences of group competition, such as legislative gridlock, and discusses what lawmakers can do to steer interest groups toward compromise. This book concludes with an exploration of greater group competition, conflict, and compromise and what consequences this could have for policymaking in a representation-based political system.

About this title

About the Author

Thomas T. Holyoke is an associate professor of political science at California State University, Fresno.

Edition details

• Publisher: Georgetown University Press
• Publication date: 2011
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 158901779X
• ISBN 13: 9781589017795
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 256