First World Interest Groups: A Comparative Perspective

This first comprehensive appraisal of interest groups in Western democracies in thirty years a systematic comparison of interest group activities and their impact on public policymaking in twelve post-industrial First World nations. Using a conceptual framework, well-known experts provide an assessment of these interest group systems, identify similarities and differences, and point to current trends and future directions. This up-to-date overview and analysis is intended for students and specialists dealing with interest group behavior, comparative government and political institutions, and also with each country that is surveyed. This landmark comparative study of interest groups balances pluralist, corporatist, and to a lesser extent neo-Marxist approaches, synthesizing current know-how about interest groups in Australia, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States. Each country chapter describes the factors that affect interest group make-up, their operating techniques, and their influence, and chapter demonstrates how the interest group system impacts on the public policymaking process and how well the system is explained by the conceptual framework it is studies. This study is viewed in terms of an American model, a British model with its derivations, models in continental European democracies, and in newer democracies. A concluding chapter offers further insights, and a selected bibliography is helpful in pointing as it does to important sources for further study.

Table of Contents:
Preface Understanding and Comparing Interest Groups in Western Democracies by Clive S. Thomas The American Interest Group System: Typical Model or Aberration? by Clive S. Thomas Government and Groups in Britain: Changing Styles by J.J. Richardson The Mirror of the State: Canada's Interest Group System by A. Paul Pross Australia: Interest Groups in the Shadow of Strong Political Parties by Trevor Matthews and John Warhurst New Zealand: Capturing the State? by Jack Vowles France: Group Politics in a Strong State by Frank L. Wilson Italy: The Fragmentation of Power and Its Consequences by Raphael Zariski Sweden: Interest Groups in Transition and Crisis by Michele Micheletti Switzerland: Democratic Corporatism in a Consociational Society by Harmon Zeigler West Germany and the New Germany: Centralization, Expanding Pluralism and New Challenges by Klaus von Beyme Israel: Interest Group Pluralism Constrained by Asher Arian Japan: Associational Politics in a Group Oriented Society by Ronald J. Hrebenar and Akira Nakamura Interest Groups in Western Democracies: Contemporary Characteristics and Future Directions by Clive S. Thomas References Selected Bibliography Index

About the Author :
CLIVE S. THOMAS, Professor of Political Science, University of Alaska at Juneau, has written on interest groups at length. His most recent books include Politics and Public Policy in the Contemporary American West (1991), Interest Groups Politcs in the Northeastern States (1993), Interest Groups Politics in the Southern States (1992) and Interest Group Politics in the American West (1987).

Review :
"Clive Thomas has edited a volume that will become a 'must' reading for those interested in the comparative study of interest groups. The individual chapters have been prepared by some of the best people in the field, and the volume has the coherence and common theme to enable the reader to indeed compare and contrast the role of interest groups in the political process in key western democratic countries."-Allan J. Cigler Professor, Political Science University of Kansas ?This volume is a major contribution in that it provides general background information on the interest group systems of the major democracies, analyzing differences and similarities, and identifying major trends in interest group systems. The work is less concerned with grand theory and gives more attention to providing an analytical framework for comparison. Undergraduate through faculty.?-Choice "This volume is a major contribution in that it provides general background information on the interest group systems of the major democracies, analyzing differences and similarities, and identifying major trends in interest group systems. The work is less concerned with grand theory and gives more attention to providing an analytical framework for comparison. Undergraduate through faculty."-Choice