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Abstract: Abstract As the coronavirus pandemic exacerbated housing precarity, tenant organizations grew in numbers and salience. But membership-based tenant organizations predated the pandemic and will persist beyond it. There are (at least) hundreds of them in localities across the country. Many aim to advance sweeping change. In doing so, they face formidable tasks: politically organizing in race-class subjugated communities, working in opposition to powerful actors (corporate landlords, property managers, etc.), and navigating complex and sometimes hostile local political institutions (city councils, mayors, rent boards, etc.). How do these organizations build power and effect change in the face of such obstacles' Drawing on a rich body of original qualitative evidence (participant observation and in-depth interviews), this paper explores the politics of local tenant organizations. We assess the origins of such organizations, how they are structured, and how they pursue political change. In doing so, we offer a rich descriptive account of phenomena that have largely escaped the attention of political scientists. We find that tenant organizations can cultivate radically different ways of conceptualizing political economy, carve out a distinctive political focus on race-class subjugated communities, and create critical opportunities for otherwise marginalized actors to develop and exercise political power. PubDate: 2022-06-01
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Abstract: Abstract Police unions raise issues of great importance for political scientists. Yet, the field has neglected them. This essay argues that political scientists should see police unions as important interest groups, empowered by state collective bargaining laws, that are important players in local politics and shapers of the criminal justice system in America. The organizational properties that make police unions important interest groups are described. The important political questions that arise once we consider police union as interest groups are examined. The existing research on police unions—especially their impact on government costs and police behavior—is detailed. Ultimately, the study of collective bargaining in law enforcement and police union political activity in local politics has been overlooked because it lies at the intersection of three different streams of scholarly research—interest groups, local politics, and policing. PubDate: 2022-06-01
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Abstract: Abstract Drawing on an original data set of over 4000 teacher-union endorsements in local school board elections, I make three contributions to the literature on union power in education politics. First, despite some recent evidence that union strength has narrowed at the federal and state levels, I show that teachers’ unions remain an influential player in local school politics today. Second, I provide evidence that teachers’ unions are active and influential in elections that occur outside of traditionally strong union states and prolabor school districts. Finally, I show that union-endorsed candidates do not win simply because they are stronger candidates ex ante, but in part, because union support makes them more formidable candidates on Election Day. I conclude with a brief discussion of the implications of these findings and suggest some avenues for future research on interest groups in local school politics. PubDate: 2022-06-01
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Abstract: Abstract In Australia, survivor advocacy groups have been closely engaged with the emergence and development of policy and redress responses to institutional child abuse. Their activities and influence in this respect have been under-researched. This study focuses on the use of Twitter, a tool increasingly employed by activist groups in their lobbying repertoires. Using content and thematic analysis, tweets of 15 non-survivor led advocacy groups, and one survivor-led organisation—Care Leavers Australasia Network (CLAN)—referring to ‘redress’ were analysed for rhetorical content (via Aristotle’s traditional framework of ethos, pathos, and logos) and communication purposes using three broad functional areas defined by Lovejoy and Saxton (2012). In keeping with Lovejoy and Saxton’s (2012) framework, the results found that for both non-survivor led advocacy groups and CLAN the primary function of their use of Twitter was to convey information to audiences. However, the integrated use of the rhetoric framework with the function framework revealed markedly different lobbying styles between the non-survivor led advocacy groups and CLAN with the latter pursuing a more confrontational and direct style of lobbying in communications. CLAN also overwhelmingly pursued emotion-focussed rhetoric in lobbying communications. PubDate: 2022-04-26
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Abstract: Abstract Constitutional conventions are popularly expected to attract many organized interests seeking to enshrine particularistic benefits into law for perpetuity, but there is limited empirical research on interest mobilization and lobbying at conventions. I propose that conventions attract different types of interests than legislative sessions and that, as a result, fears over runaway lobbying at conventions are overblown. Conventions and sessions differ in ways that affect interest mobilization. As opposed to legislators, convention delegates lack electoral incentives and focus on framework-related issues. Unlike proposed statutes, proposed constitutions must be approved by voters directly. These three differences discourage lobbying by narrow interests and encourage lobbying by broad interests. To test my claims, I examine archival records to identify the interests and lobbyists that were active during eight past conventions in American states. The findings contradict popular narratives: conventions attracted higher proportions of broad, membership-based interests than legislative sessions, and fewer interests overall as well. While convention interests employed comparable numbers of lobbyists as did session interests, they employed fewer multi-client lobbyists, on average. These findings have implications for how future conventions may be structured to ensure that constitutions are most representative of broad interests. PubDate: 2022-04-23
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Abstract: Abstract Grassroots-oriented political organizations depend on volunteers to engage in voter contact, yet minimal academic research explores how to effectively recruit them to commit to and attend volunteer events. This paper presents the results of two exploratory field experiments conducted with a partner organization that use phone calls and SMS messages to recruit and confirm volunteers. Results show that SMS message recruitment increases the rate at which volunteers sign up and attend relative to an email reminder alone, while also reducing the rate at which individuals fail to follow through. However, calls accompanied by an SMS message are the most effective way to confirm attendance among people who have already signed up for an event. Future empirical work in the arena of volunteer recruitment that fosters a social context is encouraged. PubDate: 2022-04-07
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Abstract: Abstract We use Volden and Wiseman’s (2014) Legislative Effectiveness Scores and Interest and Legislative Effectiveness Scores to estimate the effect of legislative effectiveness on House members’ success at raising campaign funds from political action committees (PACs) from 1992 through 2014. We show that legislative effectiveness is rewarded by PACs, the rewards are greater in policy domains relevant to business PACs, and the fundraising value of legislative effectiveness is larger in policy areas that are more gridlocked. PAC directors are able to identify and direct funds to effective lawmakers in the policy contexts in which they are most effective. Our results demonstrate the ability of well-heeled PAC sectors to reward legislators who are active on their issues, reinforcing concerns that the interest group system biases voice toward wealthier interests in American society. PubDate: 2022-03-31
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Abstract: Abstract The vast majority of research on interest groups tends to focus on the state and national levels (Baumgartner et al. 2009; Bergan 2009; Kollman 1998, Leech et al. 2005). Recent scholarship has shifted to the local level, for good reason: there are a large number of cities that have organized interests and Political Action Committees (Anzia 2019a; Berry 2005; Reckhow 2009). Additionally, the local political context varies from state and national contexts in two key ways: many of these elections take place off-cycle, and many are nonpartisan (Anzia 2014; Davidson and Fraga 1988 https://doi.org/10.1177/106591298804100210; Hajnal and Trounstine 2005). Using data from an exit poll conducted during the 2017 municipal election in Durham, NC, I consider whether voters in Durham knew which Political Action Committees (PACs) endorsed which candidates and whether knowing the endorsements of candidates is associated with their support for those candidates. I explore when local PACs engage in activities that mirror state and national interest groups. In these nonpartisan contexts, PACs borrow from the playbook of political parties during election season by giving endorsements and sending mailers to their members. Outside of election season, they borrow from the playbook of interest groups by lobbying local elected officials. PubDate: 2022-03-22
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Abstract: Abstract The paper offers an extensive theoretical discussion of and a contribution to the highly relevant, controversial, and normatively charged debate on the legitimacy of interest groups as non-elected, self-appointed representatives. The contribution of this paper is twofold. First, the paper juxtaposes two diverging approaches on legitimacy of interest groups, namely responsiveness as a means to achieve a congruence of interests and reflexivity as the structural facilitation of evaluative judgements conducted by the constituency. Second, the paper proposes a framework on institutional instruments generating reflexivity suitable for empirical research. To corroborate this concept-specification of reflexivity, this paper debates several empirical studies on and theoretical approaches to institutional mobilisation mechanisms enabling a structural facilitation of contestation. Eventually, three distinct attributes of the concept of interest group reflexivity are established. An interest group’s forums for exchange and education, its decision-making system and its grassroots involvement ought to ensure internal structural reflexivity towards its constituency. When combined, they can mitigate the potential for undemocratic representation due to a lack of or skewed mobilisation and empowerment. PubDate: 2022-03-14
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Abstract: Abstract Developers have a longstanding history of exercising disproportionate influence over federal, state, and local policy decisions, often at the expense of communities of color and lower-income neighborhoods. Recent research suggests, however, that homeowners and the interest groups that represent them may have gained the upper hand politically, making it harder to build housing—especially in high-demand cities. This article explores how the link between developers and perceived profit-seeking may limit the construction of new housing and the formation of effective housing reform coalitions. It concludes by evaluating why measuring developer power—and disproving negative views of developers—is methodologically quite challenging. PubDate: 2022-03-14
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Abstract: Abstract Corporate network connections create a nexus of interests and competence that impacts individual corporate behavior. In this article, I argue that corporate networks are defined by structural dependence, that centrality better positions a corporation to engage in lobbying due to greater information exchange and pooled resources, and that connections lead to an increased range of interests and likelihood to lobby. Taking corporate interests and transnational network ties into the context of globalization, I also argue that this effect is magnified for transnational connections. The presence of structural dependency and impact of network centrality is tested and supported by first examining the structure of US corporate networks and then estimating how the network ties change the likelihood that corporations will engage in lobbying. PubDate: 2022-03-13
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Abstract: Abstract Interest group scholarship has so far focused mainly on national politics and has had very little to say about interest groups in American cities, counties, school districts, and special districts. This special issue is a step toward remedying that: it is a collection of articles and essays that examine some of the interest groups that are commonly active in US local politics. The contributions herein discuss real estate developers, tenant organizations, teachers' unions, police unions, and local PACs—covering topics such as how they are organized, how they engage in local politics, some of the constraints on their influence, and the nuanced ways in which ideology and identities can sometimes shape what coalitions are possible in the local context. By bringing this work together in one place, in a journal devoted to research on interest groups, the hope is that this special issue will help to cement “interest groups in local politics” as the recognizable research focus it deserves to be. PubDate: 2022-03-12
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Abstract: Abstract This essay provides commentary on the five articles collected for this special issue of Interest Groups & Advocacy on “Interest Groups in U.S. Local Politics.” There are many strengths to be found in these articles but two stand out: first, the articles focus on central issues of contemporary urban society; and second, these works offer a rich mix of methodological approaches to studying city politics. Overall, these articles are notably imaginative and highly original. I offer further analysis by placing them in the broader context of ongoing research on organized interests. In turn, I discuss the low barrier to entry for urban interest groups, mobilization and citizen participation in city policymaking, and how the politics of place distinguishes urban advocacy from Washington lobbying. PubDate: 2022-03-09
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Abstract: Abstract This paper explores the role of corporate social responsibility (CSR) as an element in a corporation’s political action repertoire. Previous research has studied lobbying and CSR as a distinct means by which corporations seek to manage their non-market environment. Analyzing CSR as a political activity, we argue that corporations engage in CSR for the same reasons that prompt them to engage in lobbying. More specifically, we expect corporations to adopt CSR frameworks that are suitable to enhance their reputation in a given political arena. To evaluate this argument, we analyze the lobbying and CSR behavior in the EU and USA of over 2000 corporations from around the world. Our results show that lobbying and adopting CSR frameworks can be predicted by similar empirical models. Moreover, controlling for common predictors and endogeneity, lobbying in the EU is associated with an increased likelihood of a corporation adopting an appropriate CSR framework. However, corporations that lobby in Washington DC become less likely to engage in CSR the more they spend on lobbying. These findings shed new light on the relationship between lobbying and CSR while highlighting important differences in corporate non-market behavior across political arenas. PubDate: 2022-03-02 DOI: 10.1057/s41309-022-00155-2
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Abstract: Abstract We introduce a new way to measure interest group agendas and demonstrate an approach to extending the CAP topic coding scheme to policy domains at lower levels of analysis. We use public comments on regulatory proposals in US education policy to examine the topics contained in policy arguments. We map the education policy space using a data set of 493 comments and 5315 hand-coded comment paragraphs. A unique measurement model accounts for group and topic diversity and allows us to validate our approach. The findings have implications for measuring topic agendas in lower-level policy domains and understanding group coalitions and competition in education policy. We contribute to text-as-data approaches tracing policy change in the study of public policy. The findings suggest the relationship between issue attention observed by scholars and larger policy reform movements. PubDate: 2022-03-01
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Abstract: Abstract This study examines interest groups’ involvement in the policymaking process by asking the following questions: Which political and non-political actors do interest groups target' What are the attitudinal and behavioral components of their strategy' We focus on new Southern European democracies that have been understudied in terms of interest group politics. Based on an original cross-national survey administered in Greece, Portugal and Spain, with responses from approximately 600 interest groups, this study argues that the attitudinal and behavioral dimensions are partially distinct components that need to be distinguished. The findings show that although groups mainly target governmental actors to defend their interests, parties are still considered important intermediaries to influence public policies. Moreover, organizational resources are the most significant explanatory factors that shape the relations between organized interests and policymakers, while cross-country differences do not seem to be of great relevance. PubDate: 2021-12-03 DOI: 10.1057/s41309-021-00145-w
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