Exam 11: Interest Groups and Social Movements

Compare and contrast insider and outsider lobbying techniques. How do these different strategies aim to influence policy makers? How are they alike? How are they different? In your opinion, which set of tactics is most likely to be successful in influencing the policy-making process?

Which is a system of governance in which large numbers of diverse interest groups are engaged in the policy-making process?

A congresswoman is running for reelection to a fifth term in a district with an automobile manufacturing plant that employs many of her constituents. An environmental group, which advocates for stricter emissions standards that would be expensive for the manufacturing plant to implement, is considering giving her a donation. Why might it decide to donate to this campaign?

In the period between 1998 and 2016, the _______________ lobbies spent the most on lobbying activities in the United States.

The civil rights movement is best characterized as a/an ________ because of the involvement of many different organizations and the use of unconventional forms of political activism to engage individuals who had been excluded from normal political processes.

Interest groups are most successful when they exist for reasons beyond the purpose of influencing politics and when they _______________.

Compared to parliamentary democracies, the American government offers ________ points of access because ________.

When policy makers are "cross-pressured" by various interest groups, research indicates that policy makers tend to _______________.

Which dilemma is evident in the difficulties that arise in enticing individuals who may benefit from an interest group's work to provide financial support for that organization?

Calista is an enthusiastic gun owner and a supporter of extensive gun ownership rights. Yet, she is not a member of the National Rifle Association or any other interest groups that lobbies for the rights of gun owners. Calista is ________ the efforts of the National Rifle Association as well as other pro-gun interest groups and their members.

Which of the following is an "outsider" lobbying technique?

A California congresswoman is facing reelection in a tight campaign. Although she has been too socially conservative for many of her constituents, she has been a strong advocate for California's large agricultural industry. To bolster her campaign's budget, she holds a fund-raiser and invites the heads of a number of agricultural businesses and interest groups, asking them to "Save the Date for a Celebration of California Agriculture: Never Stronger!" This is an example of a/an ________.

Why do members of Congress and their staffers sometimes rely on interest groups to act as proxy staffers?

Compare and contrast American-style pluralism with European-style corporatism. How does each system deal with the problem of obtaining inputs from the public into the policy-making process? What are the benefits of each approach to governance? What are the costs to each system?

The civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s is the quintessential example of a/an ________.

The women's suffrage movement, the civil rights movement, and the Tea Party movement are examples of ________.

A social movement might be considered successful if it ________.

A libertarian group wants to lobby Congress for legislation to reduce the minimum wage, arguing that it will create more jobs. Realizing that it lacks the resources to successfully form a lobbying organization, this group gets in touch with a big-box chain of stores, which stands to benefit from being able to offer lower wages to its employees and is therefore willing to bankroll the group's lobbying efforts. This group has solved its problem by relying on ________.

If the National Rifle Association began to nominate its own candidates to run for public offices, rather than endorsing or supporting external candidates, it would cease to be a/an ________ and become a/an ________.

Some critics argue that Robert Dahl's model of pluralism, which is based on interest groups' influence on proposed legislation, does not account for ________.