L. Sandy Maisel is a former candidate for Congress and a Democratic party activist, he is the author of From Obscurity to Oblivion: Running in the Congressional Primary, Parties and Elections in America: The Electoral Process (published in its Third Edition, Post-Election Edition in 2001), and Two Parties -- Or More? The American Party System, with John Bibby, published in a second edition in 2002; he is also the editor of The Parties Respond: Changes in American Parties and Campaigns, now in its fourth edition, as well as the general editor of Jews in American Politics and Political Parties and Elections in the United States: An Encyclopedia. Sandy is also the series editor of Dilemmas in American Politics series. He is William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Government, Chair of the Government Department, and Director of the Colby in Washington Program.

Professor Berry specializes in the areas of interest groups, citizen participation, nonprofits, and public policymaking. He is the author or co-author of Lobbying for the People (Princeton, 1977), The Interest Group Society (Longman, 4th ed., 2007), Feeding Hungry People: Rulemaking in the Food Stamp Program (Rutgers, 1984), The Challenge of Democracy (Houghton Mifflin, 9th ed., 2007), and The Rebirth of Urban Democracy (Brookings, 1993), winner of the American Political Science Association's 1994 Gladys Kammerer Award for the Best Book in American Politics, and the American Political Science Association Organized Section on Urban Politics' 1994 Best Book in Urban Politics Award.

• Part I: Introduction


• 1: L. Sandy Maisel and Jeffrey M. Berry: The State of Research on Political Parties and Interest Groups


• Part II: Theoretical and Methodological Perspectives


• 2: John H. Aldrich and Jeffrey D. Grynaviski: Theories of Parties


• 3: Andrew McFarland: Interest Group Theory


• 4: Hans Noel: Methodological Issues in the Study of Political Parties


• 5: Scott Ainsworth: Methodological Perspectives on Interest Groups


• Part III: Party History


• 6: Joel H. Silbey: American Political Parties: History, Voters, Critical Elections, and Party Systems


• 7: Mark D. Brewer: The Evolution and Alteration of American Party Coalitions


• 8: John C. Green: The Party Faithful: Religion and Party Politics in America


• Part IV: Parties in the Electoral Process


• 9: Ray J. La Raja: Party Nominating Procedures and Recruitment - State and Local Level


• 10: William G. Mayer: How Parties Nominate Presidents


• 11: Daniel M. Shea: The Road Less Taken: New Directions in American Party Politics


• 12: Ronald B. Rapoport: Winning Isn't Everything: Third Parties and the American Two-Party System


• Part V: Party Organization


• 13: Paul S. Herrnson: The Evolution of National Party Organizations


• 14: Byron E. Shafer: The Pure Partisan Institution: National Party Conventions as Research Sites


• 15: Walter J. Stone: Activists, Influence, and Representation in American Elections


• 16: David B. Magleby: Political Parties and Consultants


• Part VI: Party in Government


• 17: David W. Rohde: What a Difference 25 Years Makes: Changing Perspectives on Parties and Leaders in the U.S. House


• 18: Barbara Sinclair: Partisan Models and the Search for Party Effects in the US Senate


• 19: David W. Brady: Party Coalitions in the US Congress: Intra- v. Interparty


• 20: Sidney M. Milkis and Jesse H. Rhodes: The President, Party Politics, and Constitutional Development


• 21: Gerald C. Wright: State Parties Research: The Quest for Strong, Competitive State Parties


• Part VII: Interest Groups: Bias and Representation


• 22: Kay L. Schlozman: Who Sings in the Heavenly Chorus: The Shape of the Organized Interest System


• 23: Mark A. Smith: The Mobilization and Influence of Business


• 24: Dara Z. Strolovitch and M. David Forest: Social and Economic Justice Movements and Organizations


• 25: David Lowery and Virginia Gray: The Comparative Advantage of State Interest Organization Research


• 26: Jeffrey M. Berry: Urban Interest Groups


• Part VIII: Interest Groups: Dimensions of Behavior


• 27: Frank M. Baumgartner: Interest Groups and Agendas


• 28: Beth L. Leech: Lobbying and Influence


• 29: Clyde Wilcox and Rentaro Iida: Interest Groups in American Elections


• 30: Michael T. Heaney: Linking Political Parties and Interest Groups