Undergraduate Module Descriptor

POL3274: Money, Lobbying, and Policymaking

This module descriptor refers to the 2021/2 academic year.

Module Aims

This module is intended to improve both (1) your understanding about politics and the forces that result in implemented public policies, and (2) your ability to critically evaluate research, news reports, and advocacy efforts. The aim is to enable you to assess for yourself the effects of pressure group money on politics and policymaking, having portrayed lobbyists and legislators in simulations, and analysed real data on the topic.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

This module's assessment will evaluate your achievement of the ILOs listed here – you will see reference to these ILO numbers in the details of the assessment for this module.
On successfully completing the programme you will be able to:
Module-Specific Skills1. critically assess the influence of lobbyists' direct and indirect expenditures on US policymaking;
2. demonstrate understanding of the role pressure groups and lobbyists play in policymaking, particularly in the US;
Discipline-Specific Skills3. use simple statistical methods to analyse data and model political behaviour;
4. critically evaluate political science research according to its assumptions, methods, and conclusions;
Personal and Key Skills5. increase confidence in approaching professional colleagues with ideas and suggesting collaborations;
6. improve writing skills through multiple iterations, peer review, and practice writing in the role of a professional, rather than a student; and
7. demonstrate an ability to be persuasive.

Indicative Reading List

This reading list is indicative - i.e. it provides an idea of texts that may be useful to you on this module, but it is not considered to be a confirmed or compulsory reading list for this module.

  • Baumgartner and Leech, Basic Interests
  • Baumgartner, Berry, Hojnacki, Kimball, and Leech, Lobbying and Policy Change
  • Berry and Wilcox, The Interest Group Society
  • E. E. Schattschneider, The Semisovereign People: A Realist's View of Democracy in America
  • Frank J. Sorauf, Inside Campaign Finance
  • Larry Sabato, PAC Power
  • Panagopoulos and Schank, All Roads Lead to Congress
  • Robert M. Alexander, The Classics of Interest Group Behavior
  • Wolpe and Levine, Lobbying Congress
  • Amy McKay, “Buying Policy? The Effects of Lobbyists’ Resources on their Policy Success.” Political Research Quarterly Austen-Smith and Wright, “Counteractive Lobbying.” American Political Science Review
  • Chin, Bond, and Geva. “A foot in the door: An experimental study of PAC and constituency effects on access.” Journal of Politics
  • David Lowery. “Why Do Organized Interests Lobby? A Multi-Goal, Multi-Context Theory of Lobbying.” Polity
  • Denzau and Munger, “How Unorganized Interests Get Represented.” American Political Science Review
  • Hall and Wayman, “Buying Time: Moneyed Interests and the Mobilization of Bias in Congressional Committees.” American Political Science Review
  • Jennifer Nicoll Victor, “Strategic Lobbying.” American Politics Research