The Hollow Core

The Hollow Core is by far the most comprehensive survey yet of the Washington lobbyists’ life and work… A much more complete and credible analysis about the way modern Washington works emerges than in so many previous accounts. -- Tim Hames * Financial Times *
The most thorough and masterly treatment ever delivered of the role of private interests in national policy making. The Hollow Core will constitute the solid center of research in this field for years to come. It teaches us much, not only about private interests but also about policy making. -- John T. Tierney * Political Science Quarterly *
A monumental piece of empirical research that will be required reading for anyone concerned with interest group representation in the United States. -- Paul A. Sabatier * American Journal of Sociology *
[The Hollow Core] reports on interest groups and their representatives in the grand tradition of American social and behavioral science, theoretically driven and empirically grounded—a work of major, well-executed research by a superb team of investigators. -- Heinz Eulau, Stanford University
The Hollow Core is a rigorous, path-breaking study of the structure of influence in Washington politics. It is the first work to offer abundant data and sophisticated comparative analysis of issue networks in the policy-making process. This is an absolutely superb book that will be read for years and years to come. -- Jeffrey M. Berry, Tufts University
This is an important study of that crucial but poorly understood group of men and women, Washington representatives, or as they are better known, lobbyists. The authors have put together an enormous amount of fresh data and explored areas of law and politics that have been sadly neglected in the past. It is a monumental effort, and I feel sure that it will be cited with respect and attention for many years to come. -- Lawrence M. Friedman, Stanford Law School
At a time when Americans have grown more concerned than ever about the power of ‘special’ interests in Washington, The Hollow Core delivers the most comprehensive empirical study ever accomplished of lobbyists, their clients, their contracts, their networks, and their accomplishments. The authors’ conclusions, generated from a highly sophisticated analysis of hundreds of personal interviews, are sure to surprise anyone wedded to conventional wisdoms. This book will long dominate the study of influence in America. -- Mark A. Peterson, Harvard University