1st Edition

The Organization of Political Interest Groups Designing advocacy

By Darren Halpin Copyright 2014
    224 Pages
    by Routledge

    240 Pages 22 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    Interest groups form an important part of the development of political and social systems. This book goes beyond current literature in examining the survival and ‘careers’ of such groups beyond their formation.

    The author introduces the concept of organizational form and develops a framework to describe and evaluate organisations, and uncover how they adapt to survive. Using example case studies from the UK, US and Australia, the book presents extensive historical analyses of specific groups, to better understand the organisation and position of such groups within their political system. It analyses how groups differentiate themselves from each other, how they develop differently and what impact this has on policy implementation and democratic legitimacy.

    The Organization of Political Interest Groups will be of interest to students and scholars of political science, comparative politics, public representation, and public policy.

    1. Studying Interest Groups as ‘Organizations’: A Lacuna?  2. Where is ‘Organization’ in the Group Literature?  3. Interest Groups and Organizational Form  4. Revisiting Population Level Analysis: A Feature-Based Approach  5. Interest Group ‘Careers’ (I): Formation  6. Interest Group ‘Careers’ (II): Group Adaptation and Change Over Time  7. Niche Theories: Differentiation through ‘form’?  8. Assembling Group Identities in Nascent Fields  9. Evolving Group Identities: The Role of ‘Categories’  10. Interest Group Policy Capacities  11. Conclusions: Technological Change and the (Ongoing) Importance of Organization

    Biography

    Darren R. Halpin is Associate Professor at The Australian National University, Australia.