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.

Interest groups and public policy in US local government -- The policy-focused approach to studying interest groups -- How active are interest groups in local politics? -- What kinds of interest groups are most active? -- Political parties in local politics -- Influence: issues, approach, and expectations -- Business and growth -- Unions, public safety, and local government spending -- Interest group influence in local elections -- Local interests and power.

The Oxford Handbooks of American Politics are the essential guide to the study of American political life in the 21st Century. With engaging new contributions from the major figures in the field of political parties and interest groups this Handbook is a key point of reference for anyone working in American Politics today.

Politics at the state and local level has never been more interesting than in our devolutionary age. This popular text is the most concise, readable, and current introduction to the field. Now in its ninth edition, the book keeps its focus on the varied and changing political and economic environments in which state and local governments function, and their strengths and weakenesses in key areas of public policy. The text is enlivened by boxed sections that relate individual experiences or highlight particular issues and developments. Topics covered in this edition include the drive toward devolution in the federal system; taxation and budgeting; the death penalty; tort reform, and changing approaches to welfare, education, land use, and waste management.

Interest Group Politics is the only comprehensive collection of articles on interest groups and lobbying written for undergraduates. The tenth edition offers 15 new contributions on a variety of topics, including classic analyses of how groups organize and seek to affect public policy, emerging trends such as the growth of transgender groups, and fresh studies that examine how lobbying has evolved in the Trump era. No other text or reader provides the breath of coverage or the strength of detail in exploring the world of organized interests, from their internal structure to their electoral politics to their lobbying activities. The talented scholars in this edition, like those in previous volumes, continue to seek answers to a host of questions as to how groups evolve, how they compete with similar groups, how they influence elections, and how they lobby—across a wide range of issues.

This book comprises the first systematic study on the impact of ethnic interest groups on US foreign policy, using the case study of how the Cuban?American National Foundation (CANF) influenced the outcome of three different legislatives debates that directly affected US Cuba policy.

Drawing on the expertise of leading figures in the field, this handbook provides an overview of public affairs and government relations for students, CEOs, association executives, politicians, lobbyists and business managers.

In more developed democracies, such as the US and Germany, interest groups both shape and promote public opinion. Regrettably, this is not always true in South Africas nascent system. This anthology tries to understand why interest groups do not affect or advance public opinion in South Africa and then suggests how interest groups can redress the situation.

No other reference analyzes the origins, development, programs, publications, and political action of 180 major American organizations concerned with women's issues in such depth. Over 100 experts give an overview of how national women's groups of all kinds and representing varied and broad segments of society have had an impact on a wide array of public policy issues in Washington in recent years. An introduction provides a content analysis, general background, and historical sketch for the profiles, which are arranged alphabetically. An appendix describes six government agencies of primary importance in handling women's issues, as agenda setters and bridges. A second appendix consists of the questionnaire which was sent to each organization covered in the volume. The alphabetically arranged profiles cover organizations with all types of goals and concerns, different racial and ethnic identification, church and temple affiliations: civil, elderly, professional, and occupational associations; social and sorority groups; labor and business organizations; not-for-profit and for-profit groups; research centers; and both partisan and nonpartisan organizations. Students, teachers, professionals in governmental and nongovernmental agencies, researchers, and citizen activists will find that this handy sourcebook is a treasury of authoritative information about how private citizens work to affect national policy and legislation in essential ways.