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.

Americans rail against so-called special interests, but at the same time, many members of society are themselves represented in one form or another by organized groups trying to affect the policymaking process. 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, as well as 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 2 (The Evolution of Interest Groups in the United States) on the rise of foreign countries engaging in political activity 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." • A new section in Chapter 5 (Direct Lobbying) about the rise of "model legislation" pushed by interest groups across states and localities. 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 A new section 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 rail against so-called special interests, but at the same time, many members of society are themselves represented in one form or another by organized groups trying to affect the policymaking process. 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, as well as 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 2 (The Evolution of Interest Groups in the United States) on the rise of foreign countries engaging in political activity 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." • A new section in Chapter 5 (Direct Lobbying) about the rise of "model legislation" pushed by interest groups across states and localities. 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 A new section 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.

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.

Interest Group Politics has been and will continue to be the leading (essentially only) comprehensive collection of articles on interest groups and lobbying. The authors provide a theoretical overview of the subject, and address groups as organizations, as coalitions, as electoral actors, and as lobbying entities, broadly conceived. 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. Fresh studies examine how lobbying has evolved in the Trump era, as well as offer classic analyses of how groups organize and seek to affect public policy.

The Hollywood Connection: The Influence of Fictional Media and Celebrity Politics on American Public Opinion is one of the first edited volumes offered in the political science discipline on the effects of fictional media and celebrity on public opinion, and synthesizes many niche areas of research into single text. Additionally, it emphasizes the importance of acknowledging a shift in academic focus away from the lateral interactions between celebrities and politicians (and in some cases celebrities becoming politicians) toward research that engages the American audience, as consumers of media, as a critical political component. The volume offers a collection of diverse research on questions treating the effects of fictional media on consumer audiences and the larger implications for American politics. This research collection offers both qualitative and quantitative data sources and showcases a variety of methodological approaches (experimental design, public opinion survey analysis, content analysis, etc.), robust theoretical applications, and encompasses a variety of conduits, ranging from television sitcoms to horror films to the action drama 24, that make it both compelling and timely.

Interest Group Politics has been and will continue to be the leading (essentially only) comprehensive collection of articles on interest groups and lobbying. The authors provide a theoretical overview of the subject, and address groups as organizations, as coalitions, as electoral actors, and as lobbying entities, broadly conceived. 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. Fresh studies examine how lobbying has evolved in the Trump era, as well as offer classic analyses of how groups organize and seek to affect public policy.

The role of business in American politics has provoked much controversy and attention over recent years. One need look no further than the Koch brothers or the Trump administration to get an idea of the extent to which the interests of private business wield influence over the political system. Contemporary evidence of the clear and growing disparities in wealth between ordinary citizens and business elites has drawn new attention to this topic. Recently, the canon on the activities of business elites in politics has also grown as we have learned a great deal about how business firms and their ultra-wealthy leaders and investors seek to exert political influence. This book looks at one form of business elite activity that has thus far received little attention, despite the high-profile political efforts of billionaire businesspeople including Bill Gates, Elon Musk, and Mark Zuckerberg: a phenomenon that Darren R. Halpin and Anthony J. Nownes call new entrepreneurial advocacy. This "entrepreneurial advocacy" is a mode of political engagement in which wealthy entrepreneurs (often from Silicon Valley) use their vast resources to form new organizations that advocate for their vision of the social good, which may or may not be directly linked to their private or business interests. While previous studies focus on a cross section of either the wealthiest Americans or the largest firms in the United States, this book takes a deep-dive into the political activities of a single, yet pivotal, cohort-the founders and CEOs of Silicon Valley firms. Specifically, the authors trace the development of new entrepreneurial advocacy to understand its extent, its breadth, and whose interests they represent, who supports them financially, and why business elites choose to create new organizations to engage in advocacy rather than do so under the umbrellas of their companies. Crucially, the authors also look at the impact of these organizations and what their activity means for American democracy. Leveraging a vast range of unique datasets, from political donations and lobbying to philanthropic giving and social media commentary, this book examines the role of this important set of elites in contemporary American political life.