Reflecting on the Legacy of Mobilizing Interest Groups in America

Session Submission Type: Roundtable

Session Description

One of the seminal books published on the study of interest group politics will soon celebrate its 30th anniversary. To recognize the contribution of Mobilizing Interest Groups in America: Patrons, Professions, and Social Movements and its author, Professor Jack L. Walker Jr., we propose a round table discussion for the APSA Political Organizations and Parties section. The book set out to study national surveys of membership associations in the 1980s and showed the disparate influence of some privileged groups, but not all, raising important questions about pluralism and democracy. Though some were critical upon its publication, one is hard pressed to find a published article in the subfield of interest group studies in the United States and elsewhere that does not draw on the methods and findings of the book. The aim of the discussion is to re-visit the research and writing of the book, its initial reception by scholars in the field, and its lasting impact on future studies. The presenters include those who were involved in each of these phases, representing a cross-section of the field today. All of the participants in the panel have agreed to participate and attend the conference.

Round Table Chair:
Heath Brown, Associate Professor of Public Policy, City University of New York, Grad Center and John Jay College

Presenters:
Frank Baumgartner, Richard J. Richardson Distinguished Professor of Political Science, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Kay Schlozman, J. Joseph Moakley Professor, Boston College
Andrew McFarland, Emeritus Professor, University of Illinois at Chicago
John McCarthy, Distinguished Professor of Sociology, Pennsylvania State University
Deondra Rose, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Duke University
Kathleen Marchetti, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Dickinson College

Sub Unit

• DIVISION 35: Political Organizations and Parties

Chair

• Heath Brown City University of New York, Graduate Center and John Jay College

Presenters

• Frank R. Baumgartner University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

• Kay Lehman Schlozman Boston College

• Andrew S. McFarland University of Illinois, Chicago

• Deondra Rose Duke University

• Kathleen Marchetti Dickinson College