Grassroots for hire : public affairs consultants in American democracy

The Resource Grassroots for hire : public affairs consultants in American democracy

Label

Grassroots for hire : public affairs consultants in American democracy

Title remainder

public affairs consultants in American democracy

Statement of responsibility

Edward T. Walker, University of California, Los Angeles

Language

eng

Summary

Although 'grassroots' conjures up images of independent citizen organizing, much mass participation today is sponsored by elite consultants working for corporations and powerful interest groups. This book pulls back the curtain to reveal a lucrative industry of consulting firms that incentivize public activism as a marketable service. Edward Walker illustrates how, spurred by the post-sixties advocacy explosion and rising business political engagement, elite consultants have deployed new technologies to commercialize mass participation. Using evidence from interviews, surveys and public records, Grassroots for Hire paints a detailed portrait of these consultants and their clients. Today, Fortune 500 firms hire them to counter-mobilize against regulation, protest or controversy. Ironically, some advocacy groups now outsource organizing to them. Walker also finds that consultants are reshaping both participation and policymaking, but unethical 'astroturf' strategies are often ineffective. This pathbreaking book calls for a rethinking of interactions between corporations, advocacy groups, and elites in politics

Cataloging source

UkCbUP

Dewey number

322/.30973

Index

index present

LC call number

JK1118

LC item number

.W346 2014

Literary form

non fiction

Nature of contents

dictionaries

Series statement

Business and public policy

Structured data from the Bibframe namespace is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License by University of Liverpool. Additional terms may apply to data associated with third party namespaces.

Context

Work of