Ethnic interest groups in U.S. foreign policy-making : a Cuban-American story of success and failure

This book comprises the first systematic study on the impact of ethnic interest groups on US foreign policy, using the case study of how the Cuban-American National Foundation (CANF) influenced the outcome of three different legislatives debates that directly affected US Cuba policy. This book is the first study to offer a comprehensive theoretical and empirically tested answer to the question of ethnic interest group influence. It presents the argument that such groups exert influence through three different types of power - material, identity, and alignment power. Each type of power is operationalized by a variety of indicators, allowing for clear-cut answers as to what makes an ethnic interest group successful - or not. The group in focus in this case study is the Cuban-American National Foundation (CANF), widely assumed to be one of the most influential ethnic interest groups in the United States in the 1980s and 1990s. The analysis comprises a structured-focused comparison of how CANF influenced the outcome of two different legislatives debates that directly affected US policy towards Cuba, and why it failed to do so in a third instance. Ethnic Groups in US Foreign Policy-Making not only provides an innovative approach to the study of these interest groups, but also benefits from strong political relevance, as ethnic interest groups have provoked considerable controversy in the public and among policy makers in recent years "This is an excellent piece of scholarship that is interesting, provocative, empirical, theoretically grounded, and exceptionally well written." - Patrick J. Haney, Professor, Miami University, USA "Despite all the hype about the alleged influence of, say, the 'Jewish lobby' or of Cuban Americans on US policies toward Israel or Cuba, we know surprisingly little about the role of such ethnic interest groups in American foreign policy. Therefore, this book closes a very significant gap in the literature. Henriette Rytz argues, first, that ethnic interest groups can be analyzed in pretty much the same way as other lobby groups in US foreign policy, except that collective identities motivate the activities in this case. Second, however, even most powerful ethnic interest groups such as the Cuban Americans do not get their way all the time, but have to align their discourse with main trends in US foreign policy. In sum, this excellent and extremely well researched book systematically theorizes the variation in the impact of ethnic interest groups on US foreign policy." - Thomas Risse, Professor of International Politics, Freie Universitat Berlin, Germany Front Matter....Pages i-xiv Introduction....Pages 1-13 The Debate over Ethnic Interest Group Influence....Pages 15-33 The Analysis of Ethnic Interest Group Influence....Pages 35-51 Cuban-American Influence on US Cuba Policy....Pages 53-175 Conclusion....Pages 177-193 Epilogue: The Legacy of the Cuban American National Foundation....Pages 195-203 Back Matter....Pages 205-277