Essay Archives

Interpersonal Power Networks

December 10th, 2009

America's Lobby Democracy and the Need for Citizen Lobbies

Submitted by Herbert J. Gans, Columbia University

In a representative democracy, elected officials are supposed to represent all the citizens in their constituency, but most electoral districts are large and the citizens needing representation are many as well as diverse in their interests. Moreover, some are considerably more eager and more able to be represented, notably organized interest groups, their lobbies and […]

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