Political Process: Political Interests and Public Opinion

Author: (USA) Truman / Chen Yao
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-03-01
Features: D.B. Truman (1913-2003) was a renowned American political scientist who earned his Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Chicago. He taught at institutions such as Cornell University, Harvard University, Yale University, Williams College, and Columbia University. Truman was the most famous scholar in the 20th century for studying the politics of interest groups in the United States. He believed that research on political life was far from sufficient when conducted solely at the level of institutional norms. In reality, political power is often significantly influenced by organizations such as interest groups. Interest groups are fundamental and active components in the American democratic process, and thus, they should be regarded as the starting point for observing the world and society. Based on empirical research in social psychology and anthropology, he depicted American politics and government as the result of interactions and negotiations among different interest groups. This book presents a relatively complete theory of interest groups, further solidifying the foundation of empirical political theory. His theoretical perspectives were met with enthusiastic responses in academia, making the 1950s the "golden age of interest group theory" in the United States.