Organized Interests in National Politics

Abstract

Debate about the character and impact of interest groups in the contemporary United States is as vivid as ever. An extraordinary number of groups jostle for position in every policy area, using a wide and sophisticated variety of lobbying techniques. Although the increased diversity and number of organized interests may lessen the likelihood of any single group dominating a major policy area, there are undoubtedly patterns of both exclusion and bias. If interests cannot buy the tools of organization, they are seriously under-represented. If the rich matrix of business interests, rightwing think-tanks and discreetly funded “citizen groups” lacks the cohesion to control the parameters of policy-making, it is neither for lack of resources nor for want of effort.