Is the shift away from iron triangles and toward issue networks/policy communities beneficial for the functioning of democracy in the United States?
What will be an ideal response?
An ideal response will:
1, Explain the difference between iron triangles and issue networks/policy communities: While iron triangles consist of tight policy-making arrangements among interest groups, congressional committee members, and bureaucratic agencies, issue networks/policy communities represent more fluid and open networks of interest groups, scholars, and other experts.
2, Note that the shift from iron triangles to issue networks has been driven, in part, by the growth of interest groups and their use of advertising campaigns to draw public and media attention to issues that were formerly decided behind closed doors.
3, Take a position regarding whether this shift is a positive development. An affirmative position might emphasize that the process is more open to public involvement and therefore more democratic. A negative position might note that issue networks, like iron triangles, are prone to capture as a result of the "revolving door" of employees moving between federal government service and interest groups or lobbying firms.
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Which of the following was achieved by the Green Revolution of the 1960s?
a. It ended the need for fertilizers and pesticides. b. It increased the cost of food items. c. It increased food production by new farming techniques. d. It drove many farmers out of business. e. It decreased grain production because of expensive farming techniques.
Which of the following is true?
a. Ethanol from corn is efficient. b. Biofuels help to hold down carbon dioxide emissions. c. Power-generating by natural gas is costlier than coal in the United States. d. Coal is the cheapest way to generate power in most parts of the world. e. Oil sands in Canada and oil shale in the U.S. West are scarce.