The role of communication and symbolism in interest group competition: The case of the Siskiyou national forest, 1983–1992

Abstract

Traditionally, interest group competition has been analyzed in terms of the quantifiable resources opposing groups can muster in a given policy struggle. Others have argued that less quantifiable, less easily measured communicative variables are just as important, if not more so. This study proposes that communication and the effective use of symbols are indeed crucial and often overlooked aspects of the political competition between interest groups. Based on Cobb and Elder's model of communicative influences on issue expansion, this study analyzes a highly polarized policy conflict to illustrate the significant role that symbolism and communication play in determining the nature and outcome of interest group competition. The case involves the decade‐long struggle over the old growth forests of the Pacific Northwest, specifically, the local battle over southwestern Oregon's Siskiyou National Forest. The study explores the major efforts made by the environmentalists and the timber interests to expand the i...