Book Reviews : The Hyphenate in Recent American Politics and Diplomacy. By LOUIS L. GERSON. (Lawrence: The University of Kansas Press, 1964, Pp. xxvii, 325. $6.00.)

• DOI: 10.1177/106591296601900126
• Author: Fred A. Sondermann
• Published date: 01 March 1966
• Date: 01 March 1966
• Subject Matter: Articles

166

against

another;

utilizing

committee

hearings

as

an

&dquo;informal&dquo;

means

to create

re-

ceptive

legislative

climates;

and

employing

government

publications

and

other

news

media

to

promote

government

views.

A

bureau

leader

can

also

mobilize

interest-

group

support

by

organizing

&dquo;internal&dquo;

(the

employees

and

clientele

of

the

agency)

and

non-internal

(those

with

an

ideological

sensitiviy

to

the

work

of

the

agency)

groups

by

coopting

their

leaders

through

inclusion

at

the

formative

stages

of

deci-

sion-making,

through

personal

friendship,

or

by

appointing

a

lobbyist

to

an

admin-

istrative

position.

The

differential

execution

of

enacted

laws

is

touched

on

only

briefly.

The

monograph

concludes

with

some

&dquo;summary

propositions&dquo;

concerning

the

bureau

leaders

and

the

committee

members

in

the

subsystem.

To

illustrate:

exec-

utive

influence

channels

are

becoming

more

institutionalized

through

the

wider

acceptance

of

legislative

liaison

experts;

the

commitments

and

role

demands

of

the

bureaucrat

as

against

the

legislator

(or

lobbyist)

mitigate

against

the

establishing

of

close

personal

ties;

committee

members

are

inclined

toward

a

localized

perspective

on

problems

to

the

point

that

they

often

resent

the

technical

competence

of

the

bureaucrat;

and

committee

staffs

are

important

conduits

of

politically

relevant

infor-

mation.

And

finally,

interest

groups

not

represented

by

the

bureau

can

usually

re-

ceive

a

sympathetic

hearing

from

at

least

one

of

the

two

substantive

committees

in

the

Congress

charged

with

overseeing

the

bureau’s

affairs.

The

initial

publication

of

the

monograph

provided

a

valuable

addition

to

the

literature

on

policy-making.

Its

welcome

reproduction

in

revised

form

makes

it

avail-

able

to

a

wider

audience

in

a

contemporary

format.

University

of

Oregon

WILLIAM

J.

CROTTY

The

Hyphenate

in

Recent

American

Politics

and

Diplomacy.

By

LOUIS

L.

GERSON.

(Lawrence:

The

University

of

Kansas

Press,

1964,

Pp.

xxvii,

325.

$6.00.)

Professor

Gerson’s

book

is

a

contribution

to

the

literature

of

American

politics,

particularly

in

the

area

of

the

impact

of

special

interest

groups

on

the

conduct

of

for-

eign

policy.

He

advances

the

following

main

points:

( 1 )

many

Americans

tend

to

vote

on

the

basis

of

their

ethnic

origin

or

background;

(2)

in

this

political

behavior,

they

are

aided

and

abetted

by

both

political

parties

which,

acting

on

the

assumption

that

there

are

ethnic

voting

blocks,

frame

specific

appeals

to

them;

and

(3)

within

the

context

of

American

politics

and

government,

ethnic

groups

have

many

oppor-

tunities

to

exert

influence

and

pressure.

The

evidence

on

which

these

points

are

based

revolves

mostly

around

the

era

of

the

two

world

wars

and

the

ensuing

cold

war

period.

It

involves

such groups

as

the

Irish-Americans,

German-Americans,

Polish-Americans,

Czech-Americans,

other

groups

from

Eastern

and

Northern

Europe,

Italian-Americans,

and

Jews.

In

particular,

the

author

traces

the

influence

of

some

or

all

of

these

groups

upon

the

presidential

elections

of

1916,

1920,

and

1940

through

1956.

The

historical

evidence

shows

that

various

groups

at

various

times

desired

to

influence

American

foreign