Considered the gold standard on interest group politics, this widely-used text analyzes interest groups within the intuitive framework of democratic theory, enabling readers to understand the workings of interest groups within the larger context of our political system. Comprehensive coverage includes not only the traditional farm, labor, and trade associations, but also citizen groups, public interest organizations, corporations, and public interest firms Brief in page count yet comprehensive in coverage, the book is flexible for different class settings. The book's rich content and lean size allows it to stand alone as the centerpiece of a course, or be assigned as one of several texts. New to the Sixth Edition Updates the role of money in interest group activity following the Citizens United Supreme Court decision. Covers new interest group actors including the Tea Party, Occupy, and others. Examines new developments in key interest group arenas including health care and the environment. Looks at the role of social media in interest groups. Adds a comparative look at interest group action, organization, and scholarship abroad.

With its broad spectrum of scholarship on interest groups past and present, Interest Group Politics brings together noted political scientists to provide comprehensive coverage and cutting-edge research on the role and impact of interest groups in U.S. politics, all geared to an undergraduate audience. In the wake of the Citizens United decision and the growth of lobbying into a multi-billion dollar industry, this trusted classic provides students with a guide to the influence and reach of interest groups. The Ninth Edition offers 15 new contributions on a variety of topics including organized labor, the LGBT movement, religious lobbying, the Tea Party, the tobacco industry, the role of “dark money” in campaign funding, the profession of lobbying, and advocacy and inequality. Each chapter is written by an expert in the field and carefully edited for clarity and cohesion by the editors Allan J Cigler, Burdett A. Loomis, and Anthony J. Nownes.

MySearchLab provides students with a complete understanding of the research process so they can complete research projects confidently and efficiently. Students and instructors with an internet connection can visit www.MySearchLab.com and receive immediate access to thousands of full articles from the EBSCO ContentSelect database. In addition, MySearchLab offers extensive content on the research process itself-including tips on how to navigate and maximize time in the campus library, a step-by-step guide on writing a research paper, and instructions on how to finish an academic assignment with endnotes and bibliography.­ A comprehensive overview of the Western tradition of political thought that approaches concepts with the aim of helping students develop their own political thinking and critical thinking skills. This book is uniquely organized around the theme of civil society - what is the nature of a civil society? why is it important? - that will engage students and help make the material relevant. Major thinkers discussed in the book are explored not only with the goal of understanding their views, but also with an interest in understanding the relationship of their ideas to the notion of a civil society. DeLue contends that a civil society is important for securing the way of life that most of us value and want to preserve, a way of life that allows people to live freely and place significance on their own lives.

MySearchLab provides students with a complete understanding of the research process so they can complete research projects confidently and efficiently. Students and instructors with an internet connection can visit www.MySearchLab.com and receive immediate access to thousands of full articles from the EBSCO ContentSelect database. In addition, MySearchLab offers extensive content on the research process itself—including tips on how to navigate and maximize time in the campus library, a step-by-step guide on writing a research paper, and instructions on how to finish an academic assignment with endnotes and bibliography.­ Re-issued as part of the “Longman Classics in Political Science” series, Wright's authoritative text on interest groups in the U.S. features a new Foreword, by Bruce Oppenheimer of Vanderbilt University that explores the text's enduring contributions to the discipline. Wright's renowned text surveys the history, organization, aims and processes of interest groups to explain how they influence and affect public policy and opinion in the US Congress.

This text is intended to provide you with a better understanding of the role interest groups play in the American political system. It is further intended to provide ... a ... source for what most scholars of group politics recognize as "classics." [This book] serve[s] as a ... primer for the study of interest groups and as a valuable companion to many of the standard texts that are currently used in interest-group seminars.-Pref.

MySearchLab provides students with a complete understanding of the research process so they can complete research projects confidently and efficiently. Students and instructors with an internet connection can visit www.MySearchLab.com and receive immediate access to thousands of full articles from the EBSCO ContentSelect database. In addition, MySearchLab offers extensive content on the research process itself–including tips on how to navigate and maximize time in the campus library, a step-by-step guide on writing a research paper, and instructions on how to finish an academic assignment with endnotes and bibliography. Urban Sociology provides a balanced framework for the study of the field by evaluating and integrating both ecological and political economic perspectives and examining the experiential aspect of political and economic life in cities. This book emphasizes how the urban environment shapes (rather than simply provides a backdrop for) ethnic and minority group processes, the formation of community, the political process, and criminal behavior. For anyone with an interest in sociology.

Classical and Contemporary Social Theory: Investigation and Application, 1/e, is the most comprehensive, informative social theory book on the market. The title covers multiple schools of thought and applies their ideas to society today. Readers will learn the origins of social theory and understand the role of myriad social revolutions that shaped the course of societies around the world.