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Interest Group Adaptations to Campaign Finance Reform in Canada and the United States

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 April 2009

Robert G. Boatright
Robert G. Boatright*
Affiliation:
Clark University
*
Robert G. Boatright, Department of Government and International Affairs, Clark University, 950 Main Street, Worcester, MA, USA01610, [email protected].
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Abstract

Abstract. The United States and Canada enacted similar campaign finance reforms in the early 2000s. This article draws upon interviews with leaders of the major Canadian interest groups to explore similarities and differences in the responses of Canadian and American interest groups to reform. While groups in both countries shared an increased emphasis on mobilization and communication with members, the Canadian reforms were more effective at removing many groups from political campaigns entirely. This difference is primarily a result of differences in the two nations' party systems and the historical development of interest groups in the two countries.

Résumé. Au début des années 2000, les États-Unis et le Canada ont promulgué des lois similaires visant la réforme du financement des campagnes électorales. Cet article est basé sur des entretiens avec les chefs des principaux groupes d'intérêt canadiens. Il étudie les ressemblances et les différences entre leurs réponses à ces réformes et celles des groupes d'intérêt américains. Même si les groupes des deux pays ont tous insisté sur la communication et la mobilisation de leurs membres, les réformes canadiennes ont mieux réussi à éliminer entièrement plusieurs groupes des campagnes électorales. Cette différence s'explique surtout par la structure différente des deux systèmes de partis politiques et par l'évolution historique des groupes d'intérêt dans ces deux pays.

Type
Research Article
Information
Canadian Journal of Political Science/Revue canadienne de science politique , Volume 42 , Issue 1 , March 2009 , pp. 17 - 43
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Political Science Association 2009

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