JHU Course Syllabus - Lobbying and Influence, Spring 2013

Class Schedule

Week 1: January 23             

Introduction and overview.

Week 2: January 30

In which we gain an initial understanding of the contours of representation in Washington, and how it fits with American democracy

-       Madison, Federalist #10

-       Kay Lehman Schlozman and John T. Tierney, Organized Interests and American Democracy, 1986, Chapter 2

-       Kay Lehman Schlozman, Sidney Verba, and Henry Brady, The Unheavenly Chorus, 2012, Chapter 11

-       “Who cares about the lobbying agenda?” Kimball et al, Interest Groups & Advocacy, May 2012

Week 3: February 6

In which we think about political conflict

-       E.E. Schattschneider, The Semisovereign People, 1960, Chapter 1

-       Peter Bachrach and Morton S. Baratz, “Two Faces of Power.” 1962, American Political Science Review, 947-952

-       Andrew S. McFarland, Neopluralism,  2004, Chapters 2-4 + pp. 124-132

Week 4: February 13

 In which we try to make some sense of the “political process” and the role of lobbyists in it

-       John Kingdon, Agendas, Alternatives, and Public Policies, 1984, Chapters 1, 4, 8-9.

-       Steven Teles, “Kludgeocracy: The American Way of Policy,” New America Foundation, December 2012

-       Harold Meyerson, “Did the Founding Fathers Screw Up?” the American Prospect, September 26, 2011

Week 5: February 20

In which we examine how Congress works, and some reasons it might be susceptible to lobbyists

-       Douglas Arnold, The Logic of Congressional Action, 1990 Chapters 1-2,4

-       Morris Fiorina, Congress: Keystone of the Washington Establishment, 1989, Chapter 5

-       David A. Fahrenthold “Even in an era of budget cuts, these government programs won’t die,” Washington Post, April 20, 2011

Week 6: February 27           

In which we explore how political organizations form and maintain themselves

-       Mancur Olson, The Logic of Collective Action, 1965, Chapters 1-2;

-       Jack Walker, “Mobilizing Interest Groups in America,” Chapters 3 & 10.

Week 7: March 6

In which we evaluate the old adage that “there are only two things that matter in politics: money, and I forget the other thing.”

-       Lawrence Lessig, Republic, Lost, 2011, Chapters 10 & 14

-       Stephen Ansolabehere, John de Figueiredo, and James M. Snyder, Jr., “Why Is There So Little Money in Politics,” Journal of Economic Perspectives, 2002

Week 8: March 13           

In which we investigate the role of policy and political information and framing.

-       Richard Hall and Alan Deardorff, “Lobbying as Legislative Subsidy,” American Political Science Review, 2006

-       Lorelei Kelly, “Congress’ Wicked Problem: Seeking Knowledge Inside the Information Tsunami,” New America Foundation, December 2012

-       Kent Weaver and Andrew Rich, “Advocates and Analysts: Think Tanks and the Politicization of Expertise,” in Allen J. Cigler and Burdett Loomis, eds., Interest Group Politics, 5th Edition, 1998

March 19: NO CLASS – SPRING BREAK

Week 9: March 27         

In which we take a trip through the revolving door

-       Revolving Door Working Group, “A Matter of Trust: How the Revolving Door undermines Public Confidence in Government – And What to Do About It,” 2005, pp. 1-47

-       Rogan Kersh, “State Autonomy and Civil Society: The Lobbyist Connection,” Critical Review, 2001

-       Barack Obama Executive Order on Ethics Commitments by Executive Branch Personnel, 2009

-       OMBWatch, “Nonprofits and Obama’s Lobbying Rules,” 2009

Week 10: April 3

 In which we explore how lobbyists influence the second and third branches of the federal government and see how passage of a bill is merely the beginning of a new fight

-       Suzanne J. Piotrowksi and David H. Rosenbloom, “The Legal-Institutional Framework for Interest Group Participation in Federal Administrative Policymaking,” in Paul S. Hernson, Ronald G. Shaiko, and Clyde Wilcox, The Interest Group Connection, 2^nd Edition, 2005

-       Scott Furlong, “Exploring Interest Group Participation in Executive Policymaking”, in Paul S. Hernson, Ronald G. Shaiko, and Clyde Wilcox, The Interest Group Connection, 2^nd Edition, 2005

-       Karen O’Connor, “Lobbying the Justices or Lobbying for Justice?”  in Paul S. Hernson, Ronald G. Shaiko, and Clyde Wilcox, The Interest Group Connection, 2^nd Edition, 2005

-       Eric Patashnik, Reforms at Risk, 2009. Chapter 9

Week 11: April 10

In which we look into some lobbying organizations with more detail

-       Kelly D. Patterson and Matthew M. Singer, “Targeting Success: The Enduring Power of the NRA,” in Allen J. Cigler and Burdett Loomis, eds., Interest Group Politics, 7th Edition, 2007

-       Peter L. Francia, “Protecting America’s Workers in Hostile Territory: Unions and the Republican Congress,” in Paul S. Hernson, Ronald G. Shaiko, and Clyde Wilcox, The Interest Group Connection, 2^nd Edition, 2005

-       John C. Green and Mathan S. Bigelow: “The Christian Right Goes to Washington,” in Paul S. Hernson, Ronald G. Shaiko, and Clyde Wilcox, The Interest Group Connection, 2^nd Edition, 2005

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Week 12: April 17

In which we ask: Are we doomed?

-       Jacob Hacker and Paul Pierson, “Winner-Take-All Politics:  Public Policy, Political Organization, and the Precipitous Rise of Top Incomes in the United States,” Politics & Society, 2010

-       Jonathan Rauch, Government’s End: Why Washington Stopped Working, 1999, Chapter 4

-       David Boaz. “The Lobbyist Scandals,” Pittsburgh Tribune Review, January 15, 2006

Week 13: April 24          

…Or is there hope yet?

-       Nick Allard, “Lobbying is an Honorable Profession: The Right to Petition and the Competition to be Right.” Stanford Law and Policy Review, 2008.

-       Lee Drutman, “Evaluating Reforms of Lobbying and Money in Politics,” New Directions in Interest Groups, forthcoming

-       Lee Drutman, “A Better Way to Fix Lobbying,” Issues in Governance Studies, The Brookings Institution, 2011