Interest groups

*Must have access to Christine Barbour and Gerald C. Wright’s Keeping the Republic power and citizenship in american politics 10th edition.*

There are lots of groups as well that represent people based on identities, like gender, race/ethnicity, religion, age, etc. And lots of groups represent people who share particular issue positions (the environment, human rights, etc.). These types of groups also are permissible options.
Go to the UNK Library’s website ( https://library.unk.edu/ ); type “encyclopedia of associations” into the search box; then when the search list comes up, click on the “Available online” option on the left-side menu. Scroll down until you see an entry marked “OTHER” and with the publication date “200u-” that reads: “Encyclopedia of associations: National organizations of the US” and select it. Click the link marked: “View e-book from Gale Directory Library.” Select the Encyclopedia of Associations database link for its most-recent, 60th edition (2021).
If you have a particular group in mind, type its name into the search box. To browse, expand the Section Heading options and click on the type of organization you want to browse. Please NOTE: the group you select needs to have a political agenda, so steer clear of the categories for hobby, sports, Greek, and fan club-type associations. You may use the Subject Category options to further narrow down the organizations listed under a particular section heading.
Once you have selected a group to focus on, read its entry in the encyclopedia. Gather the following information about the group: where its headquarters is located (city, state); when it was founded; how many members it has; what its budget is; and what the description says about whom the group represents and/or what its mission is. Please NOTE: your particular group’s entry may not provide all of this information. If any categories are missing, don’t worry. You may be able to find the missing information on the group’s website (see item 5 below), or that category of information may not apply to your group.
In addition to the encyclopedia entry, visit the website for your group. There may be a link to its website in the encyclopedia entry, but you also can browse for it using a search engine.
If any of the information in item 3 was missing from its encyclopedia entry, look for that information on the group’s website. Menus with headings like “about us” or “membership” are good places to start.
Finally, find on the website ONE public policy goal that the group currently is pursuing. (A recently accomplished goal would also be acceptable here). Menus with headings like “policy” or “advocacy” are good places to find this information. Gather information on both what the group wants to achieve and what branch(es) or level(s) of government the group is lobbying to achieve that goal. Please NOTE: the goal ought to be quite specific – e.g., a bill before a legislature that the group is working to pass (or to block from passage), an administrative rule or executive branch action that the group is advocating for or against, or a court case that the group is litigating or for which the group has filed an amicus curiae brief siding with one of the parties.
What you submit:
Start by summarizing the basic information about your group: its name, location, founding, and a brief description. What type of interest group is it, based on the typology of interest groups in chapter 13? Explain your reasoning.
In the second paragraph, apply the information from chapter 13 in the section on “Interest Group Resources” to the resources of your group. What are the key resources that matter in general for interest groups in seeking political influence, according to the information in chapter 13? Which of these are the primary resources that your group possesses? Report the relevant information about your group’s resources to support your analysis.
In the final paragraph, apply the information from chapter 13 in the section on “Interest Group Politics” to the lobbying activities and goals of your group. Present one of your group’s current policy goals and whom it is targeting (what level and/or branch of government) to try to achieve it. Then use the information in chapter 13 on lobbying strategies to identify and explain the type of lobbying strategy or strategies that the group is using in pursuit of this goal.
Write your analysis of the group, its resources, and its goals in your own words. Reproduction of language from the encyclopedia entry or the group’s website should be kept minimal.
Your References section must cite Barbour & Wright’s text, the group’s entry in the Encyclopedia of Associations (scroll down to Source Citation and select APA 7th edition to obtain the References entry in the correct format), and include a separate entry for each document on the group’s website from which you gathered the information used in your paper. Remember that the parenthetical notes in the text of your paper must distinguish among these entries.

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