Public Advocacy and Organized Interests: The Direct Democracy Connection

Authors

Robert Alexander

Volume Number

37

Issue Number

1

Abstract

This article examines the usage of public advocacy techniques by interest groups at the state level. A mail survey of over 400 groups in three states is used to shed light on this phenomenon. Groups across the sample states report a great deal of public lobbying activity. This is true even among groups in South Carolina-a state where such behavior would not be expected. Findings further suggest that the most important indicators of a group's usage of public advocacy techniques are manifest in a group's resources, which include whether the group has a national affiliate, a political action committee, and a large budget. Business-related groups are not frequent users of public advocacy techniques. A group's participation in direct democracy campaigns is shown to be the strongest determinant of its deployment of public advocacy techniques. The presence of direct democracy in a state may therefore provide additional opportunities to engage in public lobbying campaigns. This finding supports Boehmke's (2005) observations detailing the indirect effects of direct democracy.

Recommended Citation

Alexander, Robert (2009) "Public Advocacy and Organized Interests: The Direct Democracy Connection," Journal of Political Science: Vol. 37: No. 1, Article 5.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.coastal.edu/jops/vol37/iss1/5