Interest Group Politics In The Southern States

Underscores the pivotal, and at times controlling, role played by interest groups in southern politics.

Written by the country's most prominent scholars of Southern politics, The New Politics of the Old South is a state-by-state analysis of contemporary Southern political behavior that analyzes the influence of race and religious interest groups on the Southern electorate. Designed to be adopted for courses on Southern politics but accessible to interested general readers, this book traces the shifting trends of the Southern electorate and explains its growing influence on the course of national politics. Visit our website for sample chapters!

Interest-group lobbying is a controversial activity in American politics and this book provides a study of group power. This edition includes expanded coverage of the changing dynamics of power politics in America; new media venues and grassroots organizing; and the perennial issue of reform.

The growing need for a concise and comprehensive overview of the world of interest groups, lobbying, and public affairs called for a compendium of existing research, key theories, concepts, and case studies. This project is the first transnational encyclopedia to offer such an interdisciplinary and wide overview of these topics, including perspectives on public relations, crisis management, communication studies, as well as political science, political marketing, and policy studies. It is an interdisciplinary work, which involved an extraordinary pool of contributors made up of leading scholars and practitioners from all around the globe; it is a live and evolving project focused on drawing together grounded international knowledge for our diverse and developing world. The 200+ entries of the Palgrave Encyclopedia of Interest Groups, Lobbying and Public Affairs (to be found as a live reference work online here, and in two print volumes in 2022) address these research avenues, tackling a growing demand for a comprehensive international reference work regarding key global sectors and policymaking structures, looking beyond the traditional markets of Europe and North America to incorporate practice and research from Asia, Africa, Oceania, and Latin America. This encyclopedia acts as a synthesis of existing research, and aims to aid academics, students, and practitioners navigate their relevant fields around the globe.

The Oxford Handbooks of American Politics are the essential guide to the study of American political life in the 21st Century. With engaging new contributions from the major figures in the field of political parties and interest groups this Handbook is a key point of reference for anyone working in American Politics today.

The latest presidential election demonstrated the national importance of the shifting demographics and partisan leanings of the Southern states. When it first appeared in 1998, The New Politics of the Old South broke new ground by examining Southern political trends at the end of the twentieth century. Now in its fourth edition, with all chapters extensively revised and updated to cover events up through the 2008 elections, the authors continue their unique state-by-state analysis of political behavior. Written by the country's leading scholars of Southern politics and designed to be adopted for courses on Southern politics (but accessible to any interested reader), this book traces the shifting trends of the Southern electorate and explains its growing influence on the course of national politics. Book jacket.

Pt. 1: Public opinion and interest group politics around the world: instructive insight?: Special interests and how they help shape US legislation: interesting possibilities or potential pitfalls -- Fundraising for social change in the US: interest group advocacy in contemporary US elections -- Interest groups in the German political system: advice for South Africa. Pt. 2: Public opinion and interest group politics in South Africa: comparing perspectives: Understanding the South African political psyche -- The character of the South African state: the self-understanding of the ANC as government and its impact on the public space -- The methodology of polling public opinion in South Africa: measuring the pulse of the people -- Managing public opinion during the 2009 South African elections -- The possibilities of election campaigns as sites for political advocacy: South Africa in comparative perspective -- Challenges for interest groups and their advocacy campaigns: the case of sustainable medium density housing -- An interest group at work: environmental activism and the case of acid mine drainage on Johannesburg's West Rand. Pt. 3: Championing public opinion: a future for interest groups?: Managing campaigns to influence the public policy agenda: putting theory into practice -- Advocacy and financing that shapes and shifts public opinion -- Government and access effects on the use of social networking sites by nationwide NGOs in the US, South Africa and Mexico -- The ability of social movements to affect policy change in South Africa and the United States: comparing and contrasting key elements of HIV/AIDS treatment and welfare entitlement campaigns -- Beyond appeasement: the real business agenda -- Democracy without choice? Interest groups, advocacy and political behaviour in Namibia: a warning for South Africa?