Contractual Politics and the Institutionalization of Bureaucratic Influence

Analyzes long-term interest group/party alliances, with a focus on the part played by federal advisory committees.

This book sheds light on the dealings between special interests and political parties by challenging three long-standing assumptions: that transactions between interest groups and parties are quid pro quo exchanges, such as the buying and selling of legislation; that the interrelationship between bureaucrats and interest groups is accommodating and friendly; and that special int...