The Politics of Alcoholism can be read on one level as a fascinating history of the evolving politics of what this country is doing about “the problem of alcoholism.” Not so long ago that problem was scarcely larger than a human hand against the horizon, but now it makes good, regular newspaper copy. This text follows through on the much-raised question of how a social problem becomes defined as a large scale problem, when the same phenomenon x Preface now labeled as “a problem” was not so named before. What is offered here is a direct attack on the rise into public visibility of something previously the concern of a relatively small number of people and groups, and which gets defined along the way as a problem for the whole nation. The second issue addressed is closer to the political scientist’s traditional interest, namely the politics of handling public issues: research and theorizing here usually focus on interest groups, lobbying, public debate, legislative rights, constituencies, and so on.
Author(s): Carolyn Wiener
Publisher: Routledge
Year: 1980
Language: English
Pages: 320
City: London
Cover
Half Title
Title
Copyright
Contents
Dedication
Preface
Acknowledgments
PART I: INTRODUCTION AND APPROACH TO THE PROBLEM
1. Introduction
2. Theoretical Stance
PART II: ANIMATING THE PROBLEM
3. Establishing Turf Rights
4. Developing Constituencies
5. Funneling Advice and Imparting Skills and Information
PART III: LEGITIMIZING THE PROBLEM
6. Borrowing Prestige and Expertise
7. Redefining the Problem
8. Building Respectability
9. Maintaining a Separate Identity
PART IV: DEMONSTRATING THE PROBLEM
10. Competing for Attention and Combining for Strength
11. Selecting Supportive Data
12. Convincing Opposing Ideologists
13. Enlarging the Bounds of Responsibility
14. Summary and Implications
Appendix A: Method
Appendix B: Classification of Sources of Data
Appendix C: Glossary of Acronyms
Bibliography
Index
