Organizing for policy influence : comparing parties, interest groups, and direct action / Benjamin Farrer.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Farrer, Benjamin, author.

Series:

Routledge research in environmental politics ; 27.

Routledge research in environmental politics ; 27

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Political planning.

Political parties.

Political participation.

Direct action.

Organizational behavior.

Organizational effectiveness.

Physical Description:

xii, 248 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Routledge, 2018.

Summary:

In this book, Benjamin Farrer explains how activists can influence the policies they care about, even when they are outnumbered and their issues are ignored. The solution lies in a surprising place: organizational choice. Different types of organizations will be more influential under particular democratic institutions. If they choose the optimal type of organization - given their institutional context - then even minority groups can be influential. Environmentalists are a key example of how small groups can sometimes punch above their weight. Environmentalists in different countries have made different organizational choices. These choices explain whether or not they succeeded in influencing policy. In the empirical chapters that follow, Farrer shows that environmentalists can sometimes be more influential if they form interest groups, but under other institutions, political parties are the optimal organizational choice. Although interest groups are often easier to create, national institutions can sometimes insulate mainstream politicians from niche interest groups. When institutions deny access to interest groups, activists are forced to send the stronger signal of party entry.-- From the publisher.

Contents:

Introduction

The possibilities of political organizations

The effect of institutions on organizational choice

Translating formal theory into empirical hypotheses

Explaining emergence

Explaining choices

Explaining policy

Explaining motivations

Conclusion.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781138724815

1138724815

OCLC:

994205987