ABSTRACT
In this book, I categorize participants in decision-making into two broad groups: official actors and unofficial actors. The term “official” or “unofficial” is not meant to suggest that particular participants are more “legitimate” actors in the policy process. Rather, official actors are involved in public policy because their responsibilities are sanctioned by laws or the Constitution and they therefore have the power to make and enforce policies. The legislative, executive, and judicial branches are clearly official institutions, because they are explicitly mentioned in the Constitution. In this sense, official actors play important institutional roles. Unofficial actors include those who play roles in the policy process without any explicit legal authority (or duty) to participate. These individuals and the groups to which they belong are not called upon or compelled to participate in the policy process. Indeed, these groups are involved because they have the right to be, because they have important interests to protect and promote, and because, in many ways, our system of government simply would not work well without them. As we will see in Chapter 5, interest groups have become more prominent because they have proven to be an effective way for many people to collectively express their desires for policy.
