Rethinking the North American political economy of trade: Interest groups and the state in the construction of Canadian-American foreign economic policy.

摘要

While the dynamics underlying domestic interest group behaviour has received considerable attention, fewer scholars have sought to understand the international dimension, of their activities. This dissertation tests the hypothesis that as the transnational/political behaviour of interest groups increases on issues of international import, a concurrent pressure will exist upon the state to control and shape those demands for the purpose of generating domestic political stability. It explores the way in which meso-level variances in state capacity and autonomy, together with the nature of its interdependence with other states, shape the ability of the state to manage the influence of these groups upon the domestic public policy process.