Organizational Diversity in the US Advocacy Sector

Academic observers of contemporary American politics tend to portray the political sector as characterized by little variation in the options for citizen-based action, represented by professional advocacy organizations that provide few avenues for meaningful civic involvement. This article challenges this dominant imagery and examines how much variety exists in the organizational models available for citizen voice at the national level in the United States and how the observed models are linked to the goals, strategies, and claims advanced by a diverse set of national advocacy groups. Analysis of a sample of Washington, DC-based political organizations identified five distinct models of organizing that differ significantly in terms of their structural characteristics and their association with the goals and activities that animate collective action at the national level in the United States. Keywords: advocacy, interest groups, social movements, civic engagement, organizational diversity.