Anthony J. Nownes - Böcker

This book offers a scholarly yet accessible overview of the role of lobbying in American politics. It draws upon extant research as well as original data gathered from interviews with numerous lobbyists across the United States. It describes how lobbyists do their work within all branches of government, at the national, state, and local levels. It thus offers a substantially broader view of lobbying than is available in much of the research literature. Although tailored for students taking courses on interest group politics, Total Lobbying offers an indispensable survey of the field for scholars and others concerned with this important facet of American politics.

This book offers a scholarly yet accessible overview of the role of lobbying in American politics. It draws upon extant research as well as original data gathered from interviews with numerous lobbyists across the United States. It describes how lobbyists do their work within all branches of government, at the national, state, and local levels. It thus offers a substantially broader view of lobbying than is available in much of the research literature. Although tailored for students taking courses on interest group politics, Total Lobbying offers an indispensable survey of the field for scholars and others concerned with this important facet of American politics.

Americans regularly rail against so-called “special interests.” Yet, many members of society are themselves represented in one form or another by organized groups trying to affect government decisions. Interest Groups in American Politics, Third Edition, is grounded by the role of information in interest group activity, a theme that runs through the book. This concise, thorough text demonstrates that interest groups are involved in the political system at all levels of government—federal, state, and local—and in all aspects of political activity, from election campaigns to agenda setting to lawmaking and policy implementation. Rather than an anomaly or distortion of the political system, interest group activity is a normal and healthy function of a pluralist society and democratic governance. Nonetheless, Nownes warns of the dangers of unwatched interest group activity, especially in the realms of the electoral process and issue advocacy.This much-anticipated third edition of Nownes’s text retains a student-friendly tone. It thoroughly updates the references to interest group research, social media activity, new foreign actors in American politics, and political action committee (PAC) and party connections. Numerous figures and tables throughout the book help students visualize significant trends and information.New to the Third Edition A new section in Chapter 1 (Interest Groups in the United States) on social movements in the US.A new section in Chapter 4 (The Non-Lobbying Activities of Interest Groups) on how interest groups use social media to recruit members and burnish their image.A new section in Chapter 5 (Direct Lobbying) about lobbying regulation, how it affects group behavior, and "shadow interests."New data in Chapter 6 (Electoral Lobbying) on how and how much groups spend on PACs, super PACs, and other vehicles for election spending.A new section in Chapter 7 (Indirect Lobbying) on how interest groups use social media and new technology to affect political outcomes.A new section in Chapter 8 (Interest Groups and Political Parties) on interest groups, the Republican Party, and President Donald Trump.New information in Chapter 9 (The Influence of Interest Groups) on the latest research on interest group power and influence. The new section will cite the latest literature on the growing power of business.

Americans regularly rail against so-called “special interests.” Yet, many members of society are themselves represented in one form or another by organized groups trying to affect government decisions. Interest Groups in American Politics, Third Edition, is grounded by the role of information in interest group activity, a theme that runs through the book. This concise, thorough text demonstrates that interest groups are involved in the political system at all levels of government—federal, state, and local—and in all aspects of political activity, from election campaigns to agenda setting to lawmaking and policy implementation. Rather than an anomaly or distortion of the political system, interest group activity is a normal and healthy function of a pluralist society and democratic governance. Nonetheless, Nownes warns of the dangers of unwatched interest group activity, especially in the realms of the electoral process and issue advocacy.This much-anticipated third edition of Nownes’s text retains a student-friendly tone. It thoroughly updates the references to interest group research, social media activity, new foreign actors in American politics, and political action committee (PAC) and party connections. Numerous figures and tables throughout the book help students visualize significant trends and information.New to the Third Edition A new section in Chapter 1 (Interest Groups in the United States) on social movements in the US.A new section in Chapter 4 (The Non-Lobbying Activities of Interest Groups) on how interest groups use social media to recruit members and burnish their image.A new section in Chapter 5 (Direct Lobbying) about lobbying regulation, how it affects group behavior, and "shadow interests."New data in Chapter 6 (Electoral Lobbying) on how and how much groups spend on PACs, super PACs, and other vehicles for election spending.A new section in Chapter 7 (Indirect Lobbying) on how interest groups use social media and new technology to affect political outcomes.A new section in Chapter 8 (Interest Groups and Political Parties) on interest groups, the Republican Party, and President Donald Trump.New information in Chapter 9 (The Influence of Interest Groups) on the latest research on interest group power and influence. The new section will cite the latest literature on the growing power of business.

Illuminates transgender activists' successful strategies to organize for social and political change in the US.In recent years, gender-variant people-including those we now call transgender people-have won public policy victories that had previously seemed unwinnable: the American Psychiatric Association replaced the term "gender identity disorder" with "gender dysphoria" in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the Department of Justice announced that discrimination on the basis of gender identity constituted sex discrimination, and the Department of Health and Human Services decided that it would no longer stop Medicare from covering gender reassignment surgery. What accounts for these and other victories? Anthony J. Nownes argues that a large part of the answer lies in the rise of transgender rights interest groups in the United States. Drawing on firsthand accounts from the founders and leaders of these groups, Organizing for Transgender Rights not only addresses how these groups mobilized and survived but also illuminates a path to further social change. Nownes shows how oppressed and marginalized people can overcome the barriers to collective action and form viable organizations to represent their interests even when their government continues to be hostile and does not.

Illuminates transgender activists' successful strategies to organize for social and political change in the US.In recent years, gender-variant people-including those we now call transgender people-have won public policy victories that had previously seemed unwinnable: the American Psychiatric Association replaced the term "gender identity disorder" with "gender dysphoria" in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the Department of Justice announced that discrimination on the basis of gender identity constituted sex discrimination, and the Department of Health and Human Services decided that it would no longer stop Medicare from covering gender reassignment surgery. What accounts for these and other victories? Anthony J. Nownes argues that a large part of the answer lies in the rise of transgender rights interest groups in the United States. Drawing on firsthand accounts from the founders and leaders of these groups, Organizing for Transgender Rights not only addresses how these groups mobilized and survived but also illuminates a path to further social change. Nownes shows how oppressed and marginalized people can overcome the barriers to collective action and form viable organizations to represent their interests even when their government continues to be hostile and does not.

American Political Thought: Theory and Practice provides students with a carefully curated selection of short and accessible readings that explore essential themes in American political thought.The anthology comprises diverse writings from a variety of American political thinkers throughout time. Opening chapters present readers with reflections on the founding of the United States of America and its Constitution. Additional chapters explore the enduring debate over the scope and power of American government and attendant discussions of federalism. Students examine the role of "the common person" in American politics as embodied by Jacksonian democracy; individualism and transcendentalism; race, gender, and sexuality in American politics and society; America's role in the world system; and more. Political thinkers featured within the volume include Thomas Paine, George Washington, Stephen Howard Browne, Walt Whitman, Martin Luther King, Jr., Barack Obama, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Andrew Bracevich, and Noam Chomsky, to name a few.Designed to ignite a lifelong interest in the subject matter, American Political Thought is an ideal textbook for American history and politics courses.