Pressure Groups [Paperback]

Since the early 1950s pressure groups have been recognized as playing a key role in the policy process in western democracies. As legislatures and political parties have declined in influence, the relationship between pressure groups and government has become highly developed. This has presented both problems and opportunities for the participation of ordinary citizens in the governmental process. This book reviews some of the key theoretical concepts developed in the study of pressure groups and presents a series of up-to-date studies of their role in particular countries, including the U.K., the U.S., France, and the former Soviet Union. It is an authoritative collection, edited by one of Britain's leading pressure group analysts, and will be invaluable for both students and practitioners who want to understand current developments in the lobbying process.

Introduction: Groups and Government
I. Pressure Group Theory
1. The Process of Government
2. The Logic of Collective Action
3. Interest Groups and the Fallacy of the Liberal Fallacy
4. The Pluralism of Pluralism: An Anti-theory?
II. Pressure Groups in Practice
5. Democratization and the Growth of Pressure Groups in the Soviet Union
6. Interest Group Behaviour in Britain: Continuity and Change
7. Interest Groups in Denmark
8. Interest Groups in Italy: From Pressure Activity to Policy Networks
9. American Interest Groups
10. Canadian Pressure Groups: Talking Chameleons
11. Pluralism and Pressure Politics in France
12. Pressure Group Politics in West Germany
13. Interest Groups in the European Community
14. Three Faces of Associational Politics: Interest Groups in Politics in IsraellCH