The Organization Ecology of Interest Communities - (Interest Groups, Advocacy and Democracy) by Darren Halpin & David Lowery & Virginia Gray

About the Book

"The organization ecology approach to the study of interest representation and lobbying is now almost two decades old, and a substantial body of theoretical and empirical work in both the United States and Europe has developed using this approach. Critically assessing this body of work, this collection summarises the origins and development of this research program, grounding it more firmly in the larger literature on organization ecology. It provides critical assessments of this literature from those working outside of its theoretical and empirical confines to respond to those critics and to outline an agenda for research for the future using the organization ecology approach to interest representation. The contributions to the book provide a review of the research program for those using organization ecology to study interest representation, outlines how it contributes to the larger body of work on both interest representation and organization ecology, and encourages future research on interest representation from a community-level perspective. "--

Book Synopsis

This volume summarizes the origins and development of the organization ecology approach to the study of interest representation and lobbying, and outlines an agenda for future research. Multiple authors from different countries and from different perspectives contribute their analysis of this research program.

Review Quotes

'The Organization Ecology of Interest Communities is one of the most important books on interest group systems ever written. The papers in this excellent volume represent that work's ever-expanding impact and chart new directions for population ecology research. Every student of interest groups will need to read this volume carefully.' Richard L. Hall, Professor of Political Science and Public Policy, University of Michigan, USA

About the Author

Frank R. Baumgartner, Richard J. Richardson Distinguished Professor of Political Science, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA Joost Berkhout, Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands Jan Beyers, Professor of Political Science, University of Antwerp, and Director of the Antwerp Centre for Institutions and Multilevel Politics (ACIM), Belgium Caelesta Braun, Assistant Professor, Free University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands Traci Burch, Associate Professor of Political Science, Northwestern University, and Research Professor at the American Bar Foundation, USA Virginia Gray, Robert Watson Winston Distinguished Professor of Political Science, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA Darren Halpin, Associate Professor and Reader in Policy Studies, and the Head of School of Sociology, at the Research School of Social Sciences, the Australian National University. Marcel Hanegraaff, Post-Doctoral Researcher of Political Science, University of Antwerp, Belgium Thomas T. Holyoke, Associate Professor of Political Science, California State University, Fresno, USA Philip Edward Jones, Assistant Professor of Political Science and International Relations, University of Delaware, USA Beth Leech, Professor of Political Science, Rutgers University, USA Burdett Loomis, Professor of Politics, University of Kansas, USA David Lowery, Bruce R. Miller and Dean D. LaVigne Professor of Political Science, Pennsylvania State University, USA William A. Maloney, Professor of Politics and Head of the School of Geography, Politics and Sociology, Newcastle University, UK Anthony J. Nownes, Professor of Political Science, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, USA Christopher Witko, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of South Carolina, USA Hye Young You, Assistant professor of Political Science, Vanderbilt University, USA Kay Lehman Schlozman, J. Joseph Moakley Endowed Professor of Political Science, Boston College, USA Kelsey Shoub, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA Sidney Verba, Carl H. Pforzheimer University Professor Emeritus and Research Professor of Government, Harvard University, USA