Only once in my life have I met a Cabinet Minister (the then Secretary of State for Scotland). This was at a reception where about 100 people were present, the majority of whom (myself included) had some concern which they wished to press upon the great man. His minder (now himself a Member of the Scottish Parliament) spent the whole afternoon trying to organize the throng of supplicants into an orderly queue. I was granted a minute or so with the Minister and considered myself satisfied. This was lobbying in its simplest form; but in the United States it has become a major industry ($2.5 bn. a year being spent on lobbying the Federal Government alone) and so deserves to have a reference book devoted to it.
The first chapter examines the history of lobbying, pointing out that even the Founding Fathers anticipated the possible dangers to the state posed by interest groups and speculated on the means of keeping them under control. The second goes on to study the more controversial aspects of the matter, in particular, its potential for corruption. This arises from the increasing extent to which, in the last hundred years, political candidates have expected their campaigns to be financed by interest groups, who may later demand a legislative quid pro quo. The obvious solution, adopted in Britain for instance, of placing severe restrictions on election expenditure, is unavailable in the USA, where the Supreme Court has ruled that electoral funding is a form of free speech! The chapter goes on to chronicle the various attempts which have been made to reform the abuse of lobbying, but without much success so far.
The third chapter compares lobbying in the United States with its counterparts in other major countries; it notes also the recent growth of transnational lobbying, mainly by large non‐governmental organisations like the Red Cross. The fourth is a chronology, listing the dates of foundation of important lobbying groups, the most prominent scandals associated with them, and the legislative acts which have attempted to control them.
A biographical chapter follows, including about 40 significant people, whether lobbyists, interest group leaders, or academic commentators on lobbying. The next chapter is entitled Data and Documents. Some of the documents are historical (e.g. the pioneering definition of the problem by James Madison in the Federalist Papers) and some contemporary, such as extracts from Congressional hearings on the subject. The data includes particulars of the legislation designed to limit lobbying, and a table of the highest‐spending lobbying groups now operating; the top place is held by the US Chamber of Commerce at a rate of $40 m. a year. The last chapter comprises details of over fifty major lobbying organizations, with contact details and a summary of their aims.
The supplementary material includes a glossary of about forty specialised terms, e.g. Revolving Door, the tendency of Government ministers and officials to become lobbyists after leaving office; an annotated and broadly classified bibliography of about 100 books, journals, websites and films (each chapter also having its own list of references); and an adequate index. A list of abbreviations would have been helpful, but is not provided.
This book certainly succeeds in its aim of bringing the most important facts about lobbying together in a convenient form designed, I should think, for US undergraduate students (some of whom, we are told, may later aspire to a Master's degree in lobbying). Though somewhat specialised, it would be equally useful to universities elsewhere in the world whose students wish to understand this significant aspect of American politics.
