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No description available.

This study explores the range and variance of interest group activity in constituency campaigns in the 1988 federal election as reported in the Constituency Party Association dataset created in 1991 for the Royal Commission on Electoral Reform and Party Financing. SPSSPC+ was used to analyze the relationships between variables in four main areas: political party affiliation, geographic variables, constituency association characteristics, and the specific issues the interest groups were promoting or opposing. The most significant finding was that interest groups were actively involved in half of the riding association election campaigns, either supporting or opposing local candidates. The cursory treatment of electoral involvement in the interest group literature provides an inadequate explanation for this widespread phenomena. This study provides an initial profile of interest group involvement in constituency campaigns. The exploration of the data revealed that interest groups were more likely to be involved in the local campaigns of candidates associated with the governing party. They were less likely to be involved in Quebec constituency campaigns, and more likely in wealthy competitive riding campaigns. The most frequently mentioned issues that motivated interest groups locally were abortion, followed by free trade.

This study explores the range and variance of interest group activity in constituency campaigns in the 1988 federal election as reported in the Constituency Party Association dataset created in 1991 for the Royal Commission on Electoral Reform and Party Financing. SPSSPC+ was used to analyze the relationships between variables in four main areas: political party affiliation, geographic variables, constituency association characteristics, and the specific issues the interest groups were promoting or opposing. The most significant finding was that interest groups were actively involved in half of the riding association election campaigns, either supporting or opposing local candidates. The cursory treatment of electoral involvement in the interest group literature provides an inadequate explanation for this widespread phenomena. This study provides an initial profile of interest group involvement in constituency campaigns. The exploration of the data revealed that interest groups were more likely to be involved in the local campaigns of candidates associated with the governing party. They were less likely to be involved in Quebec constituency campaigns, and more likely in wealthy competitive riding campaigns. The most frequently mentioned issues that motivated interest groups locally were abortion, followed by free trade. / Arts, Faculty of / Political Science, Department of / Graduate

This study investigates the phenomenon of ethnic interest groups as domestic sources of influence on the making of foreign policy on a cross-national basis. The attempt is made first to develop a framework for comparing theoretically the role of ethnic groups in various governmental systems. Once completed, the various conceptual assumptions are applied to the activities of domestic ethnic interest groups in the United States and Canada concerned with policy for the Middle East and the Arab-Israel conflict. The focus is primarily on the American and Canadian pro-Israel lobbies during the period between October 1973 and September 1982. Data for domestic Arab ethnic constituencies are also considered where relevant, but more as logical counter-points to the North American Jewish communities than as bases for full and complete cross-ethnic comparison. The principal objective of this study is to compare the political influence of two interest groups of the same faith and fundamental purpose but of different systems of government and political cultures.

No description available.