Southern political science meetings

I am serving as the Civic Education section chair for the 2014 Southern Political Science Association annual meeting in New Orleans (proposals due August 16th). In 2015, I will be serving as the chair for Interest Groups, Advocacy, and Political Mobilization. I welcome proposals or any ideas for the sessions. Here is the call for proposals.

New Directions in Interest Group Politics

My edited volume is now forthcoming from Routledge. Thanks to all who participated. Here is the table of contents and cover:

Preface.  1: Group Mobilization from the Economy, Society, and Government; Matt Grossmann  2. How Membership Associations Change the Balance of Representation in Washington (And How They Don’t); Kay Lehman Schlozman and Philip Edward Jones   3. Grassroots Mobilization and Outside Lobbying; Edward Walker   4. The Paradoxes of Inequality and Interest Group Representation; Dara Z. Strolovitch   5. Political Parties and Ideology: Interest Groups in Context;Hans Noel   6. Why Lobbyists for Competing Interests Often Cooperate; Thomas T. Holyoke   7. How Will the Internet Change American Interest Groups?; David Karpf   8. Attack of the Super PACs? Interest Groups in the 2012 Elections; Michael Franz   9. When Does Money Buy Votes? Campaign Contributions and Policymaking; Christopher Witko   10. Understanding the Influence of Lobbying in the U.S. Congress: Preferences, Networks, Money, and Bills; Holly Brasher and Jason Britt   11. Interest Groups, the White House, and the Administration; Heath Brown   12. Interest Groups in the Judicial Arena; Paul M. Collins, Jr.   13. Evaluating Reforms of Lobbying and Money in Politics; Lee Drutman   14. Conclusion; Matt Grossmann

Book Reviews

Talk at Yale

I am speaking at the American Politics & Public Policy Workshop at the Yale University Institution for Social and Policy Studies on Wednesday, February 6th at noon. The talk is titled “Artists of the Possible: Governing Networks and American Policy Change Since 1945” and will cover two chapters of my forthcoming book. 

Book Reviews

There are new reviews of my book, The Not-So-Special Interests: Interest Groups, Public Representation, and American Governance, in Choice, Contemporary Sociology, and Interest Groups & Advocacy. The book was previously reviewed in Publishers Weekly. There should also be forthcoming reviews in the American Journal of Sociology, the American Review of Politics, and Perspectives on Politics. Choice said: “He develops a tight analytical framework and gathers an impressive array of original data… Grossmann’s contributions… should become staples for those seeking to understand organized interest behavior and influence.” Another review said it “blazes an impressive trail… It mingles real-world insights with heaps of illuminating quantitative data… It should be the first word in many conversations about interest groups.” Another said that the book “would be useful for anyone interested in democracy in America.” Another commented: “This is an extremely useful book, one that will spur debate, discussion, and certainly subsequent research.” Thanks for the positive reviews.

Emerging Scholar Award

My paper, “How Much Do Agendas Matter? Issue Attention and Policy Change” was awarded the Emerging Scholar Award by the Midwest Political Science Association for the best paper in any field by a recent PhD. 11 years of consecutive Midwest attendance has finally paid off.

Policy History Articles Now Available

The first articles from my policy history project are now available. The Journal of Politics has published “The Variable Politics of the Policy Process: Issue Area Differences and Comparative Networks.” Interest Groups & Advocacy has published “Interest Group Influence on U.S. Policy Change: An Assessment Based on Policy History.”

Lobbying and congressional bill advancement

My article on lobbying and lawmaking, co-authored with Kurt Pyle, is now available (ungated): Lobbying and congressional bill advancement

Public Radio Programs to Discuss My Book

I was on a Wisconsin Public Radio call-in program, At Issue with Ben Merens, to discuss my book, The Not-So-Special Interests. Here is the archive link: http://bit.ly/M6psxr

I was also on the Craig Fahle show on WDET to discuss the book. Here is that link: bit.ly/L1Sdxk

My next book, Artists of the Possible, is now under contract

My next book is now under contract after review from Oxford University Press. It will be a year or two before it comes out but the current title is Artists of the Possible: Governing Networks and American Policy Change Since 1945.