Doctoral Dissertation Research: The Institutionalization of Social Movements and the Growth of Grassroots Lobbying

约翰·D·麦卡锡爱德华·T·沃克宾夕法尼亚州立大学在20世纪60年代和70年代的激进主义浪潮之后，随着社会运动越来越专业化，并在既定的影响渠道内开展工作，他们的策略开始被企业、行业协会和相关利益集团通过“草根游说”的做法所采用。如今，越来越多的公关和政治咨询公司为他们的客户提供各种这样的游说服务，包括请愿、直接邮寄和社区组织。这种形式的政治活动是如何变得突出的，什么样的团体最有可能采取这种行动？这个项目对基层游说机构的发展和现状提出了三个主要问题：(1)是什么历史和组织因素塑造了这种做法的发展？组织创建的历史模式是否表明，这些策略实际上是从制度化的社会运动中学习的？(2)社会中哪些类型的群体最有可能雇用公司进行此类操作？例如，政党、企业或利益集团是否最有可能与草根游说公司合作？(3)哪些因素最能解释每个团体参与的策略？例如，主要有企业客户的公司更有可能还是更不可能参与社区组织？为了解决这些问题，这项研究将以《竞选与选举》杂志提供的一组名录清单为基础，该杂志为那些寻求政治咨询和游说服务信息的人提供了一个知名且可靠的来源。一旦列举了1990-2004年竞选和选举中列出的完整的草根游说公司，将从其他四个来源寻找关于每个公司的进一步信息：公关公司目录、注册的华盛顿游说者、公共和私人公司以及每个组织的网站。更广泛的影响：该研究审查了政治进程中被忽视的一个方面--这对公众舆论的形成和立法决定的结果具有巨大的后果。这项拟议的研究将首次系统地研究企业、行业协会、利益集团和政治活动试图通过哪些最新和最具创新性的手段来争取公众对其政策的支持。学院内外的社区都将受益于了解草根游说策略激增的程度，以及社会运动在这一过程中所起的作用。

SES-0527344John D. McCarthyEdward T. WalkerPennsylvania State UniversityAs social movements increasingly began to professionalize and work within established channels of influence in the wake of the 1960s and 1970s wave of activism, their tactics began to be adopted by corporations, trade associations, and related interest groups through the practice of "grassroots lobbying." Today, a growing industry of public relations and political consulting firms provide for their clients a variety of such lobbying services, including petitioning, direct mail, and community organizing. How did this form of political activity become prominent, and what sorts of groups are most likely to take such action? This project asks three major questions about the development and present-day operation of grassroots lobbying firms: (1) What historical and organizational factors shaped the development of this practice? Does the historical pattern of organizational founding suggest that these tactics were, in fact, learned from institutionalized social movements? (2) Which types of groups in society are most likely to employ a firm to carry out such operations? For example, are political parties, corporations, or interest groups the most likely to work with a grassroots lobbying firm? (3) What factors best account for the tactics in which each group engages? For example, are firms that have primarily corporate clients more or less likely to engage in community organizing? In order to address these questions, this research will build from a set of directory listings provided by the magazine Campaign & Elections, a well-known and reputable source for those seeking information on political consulting and lobbying services. Once the complete set of grassroots lobbying firms listed in Campaigns & Elections from 1990-2004 is enumerated, further information on each firm will be sought from four other sources: directories of public relations firms, registered Washington lobbyists, and public and private corporations, as well as the websites of each organization. Broader Impacts: The study examines a neglected aspect of the political process-one that has enormous consequence for the formation of public opinion and the outcomes of legislative decisions. The proposed research will be the first to systematically examine the newest and most innovative means by which corporations, trade associations, interest groups, and political campaigns attempt to gain popular support for their policies. Communities both inside and outside of the academy will benefit by understanding the extent to which grassroots lobbying tactics have proliferated, as well as the role that social movements play in the process.