Silicon Valley Firms in American Politics

2021 ◽  
pp. 27-66
Author(s):  
Darren R. Halpin ◽  
Anthony J. Nownes
Keyword(s):  
Political Process ◽  
Silicon Valley ◽  
Political Engagement ◽  
The Political ◽  
National Politics ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Corporate Leaders ◽  
Corporate Elite ◽  
Corporate Elites ◽  
Politically Active

Chapter 2 examines the firm-level form of corporate elite political engagement. It asks: Just how active are Silicon Valley companies in American (mostly national) politics? And what issues do they work on? The answers to these questions provide a context for founder and CEO activities (explored in later chapters). To be sure, these are important questions in and of themselves. But we ask them primarily to gather information that will allow us to address other questions about the behavior of Silicon Valley corporate elites. Among these questions are: Do politically active leaders come from politically active companies? Do Silicon Valley corporate leaders act like their companies—for example, do they address the same issues? Are corporate leaders simply extensions of the companies they run, or are they “free agents” who inject their own, personal views into the political process? Or are they a mixture of both of these? Chapter 2 presents data that help address these questions and others.

Conclusion

2021 ◽  
pp. 225-240
Author(s):  
Darren R. Halpin ◽  
Anthony J. Nownes
Keyword(s):  
American Politics ◽  
Silicon Valley ◽  
Political Engagement ◽  
Corporate Elite ◽  
Corporate Elites ◽  
Future Work

Chapter 7 puts the book’s findings into context by exploring what they have to teach us about the role of the new corporate elite in American politics. The chapter outlines the approach taken in the book—namely, to document the engagement of Silicon Valley corporate elites through their firms, as individuals, and via associative forms. The chapter reviews the conclusions of the study, including the following: (1) the Silicon Valley corporate landscape is diverse when it comes to political engagement; (2) there is a top tier among the Silicon Valley firms and elites when it comes to expenditures on lobbying and elections; (3) most elites skew liberal even if their firms do not, and the philanthropic spending of elites supports a new liberal agenda. The chapter concludes by discussing limitations of this project and opportunities for future work.

Silicon Valley Leaders in Federal Elections

2021 ◽  
pp. 67-126
Author(s):  
Darren R. Halpin ◽  
Anthony J. Nownes
Keyword(s):  
Democratic Party ◽  
Silicon Valley ◽  
Political Engagement ◽  
Campaign Contributions ◽  
Federal Election ◽  
Federal Election Commission ◽  
Corporate Elite ◽  
Individual Contributions ◽  
Corporate Elites ◽  
Election Commission

Chapter 3 examines one individual form of corporate elite political engagement—campaign giving. The chapter undertakes an in-depth look at the itemized federal campaign contributions of Silicon Valley CEOs and founders during the 2015–2016 federal election cycle. Relying upon publicly available Federal Election Commission data on individual contributions, the chapter answers questions including: How prevalent is campaign giving among the corporate elites on our SV150+ CEO and founder lists? Do these corporate elites give more or less than other sets of corporate elites? In their giving, are SV150+ CEOs and founders as Democratic as previous studies suggest they are? Are they indeed a new financial constituency of the Democratic Party? Are Silicon Valley corporate elites simply furthering their firms’ interests when they give, or are they “free agents” following their own, personal preferences?

scholarly journals The political activities of American corporate leaders

2013 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 493-527 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony J. Nownes ◽  
Nurgul R. Aitalieva
Keyword(s):  
Mail Survey ◽  
Strong Relationship ◽  
Political Activity ◽  
The Political ◽  
National Politics ◽  
Corporate Political Activity ◽  
Political Activities ◽  
Corporate Leaders ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Politically Active

What is the nature and extent of corporate leader involvement in American national politics? The results of a mail survey of nearly 100 such individuals show that leaders are quite active, devoting an average of nearly 1 hour per day to national political activity. We also show that corporate leaders engage in a wide range of advocacy activities. Monetary activities loom particularly large in the political lives of American corporate leaders, as large numbers are approached by members of Congress for contributions, and many who are approached answer the call. In addition, we find that corporate leaders, unlike advocacy professionals, do a great deal of their advocacy work in private; for the most part they eschew public activities such as testifying before congressional committees. Speaking to the question of which leaders are most politically active, our data evince a strong relationship between firm political activity and firm leader political activity. In sum, politically active firms have politically active leaders. We thus contribute to the ongoing academic discussion of corporate political activity by showing that the CEO's office is an additional locus of political power within business firms, and that CEO political activity is instrumental rather than consumptive in nature.

Corporate Elites and American Politics

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-26
Author(s):  
Darren R. Halpin ◽  
Anthony J. Nownes
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Silicon Valley ◽  
The Political ◽  
Private Firms ◽  
Advocacy Organizations ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Business Lobbying ◽  
Book Studies ◽  
Corporate Elites ◽  
To Come

The book begins by introducing the Silicon Valley 150+, the 175 biggest public and private firms in Silicon Valley, and discusses the intent of the book: to examine the political engagement of those individuals who founded and are CEOs of the SV150+ firms. This chapter introduces the main themes of the book, positioning the book against literatures covering business lobbying, political donations by firms, philanthropy and public policy, and the formation of new advocacy organizations. The chapter also includes three important lists: (1) the SV150+ firm list—the list of Silicon Valley firms the book studies; (2) the SV150+ CEO list—the list of CEOs the book studies; and (3) the SV150+ founder list—the list of founders the book studies. The chapter concludes with an overview of the chapters to come.

A Reassessment of Conventional Wisdom About the Informed Public: National Political Information in Ghana

1976 ◽  
Vol 70 (2) ◽  
pp. 433-451 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fred M. Hayward
Keyword(s):  
Formal Education ◽  
Political Process ◽  
Conventional Wisdom ◽  
Political Information ◽  
The Political ◽  
National Politics ◽  
Major Interest ◽  
Informed Citizenry ◽  
The Masses ◽  
Different Levels

This study examines the extent, impact and implications of political information in Ghana using survey data. A major interest is to identify and examine variables which influence level of information and to look at the consequences for the political process of different levels of political information. I examine conventional wisdom concerning the ignorance of the masses about national politics and call into question some common assumptions. Many of the differences usually assumed between developed and underdeveloped nations are found either not to exist or to be smaller than hypothesized. The data suggest that in some areas of national political information the masses in non-modernized societies are more politically aware than their counterparts in modernized societies. It is also suggested that there is no necessary link between education (literacy) and political information and that there are a number of functional equivalents to formal education. In the last section of the study several propositions about the informed citizenry are discussed.

Print newspaper readers more politically active

2017 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 340-353 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tien-Tsung Lee ◽  
Yuki Fujioka
Keyword(s):  
National Survey ◽  
Political Process ◽  
The Political ◽  
Time Reading ◽  
Mobilizing Information ◽  
Politically Active

A national survey in Taiwan suggests offline political participants spend more time reading print newspapers than those who participate less. Online political participants also read a larger number of print newspapers than do non-participants. To increase readership, newspapers can consider increasing their political coverage and provide mobilizing information that enables citizens to participate in the political process.

scholarly journals College Students and Online Political Expression During the 2016 Election

2017 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 422-439 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth W. Moffett ◽  
Laurie L. Rice
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Political Process ◽  
Political Engagement ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Expression ◽  
2016 Election ◽  
Low Levels ◽  
Online Forms ◽  
Oriented Activity

While college students traditionally exhibit low levels of political participation and interest in politics, they are more likely to engage in some forms of political expression than their elders. Their greater familiarity with online forms of political expression and engagement potentially lowers their barriers for political involvement. In turn, this potentially draws more young adults into the political process. The authors compare the precursors of expressive forms of online political engagement to those of talking to someone off-line and trying to persuade them to vote for or against a candidate or party among college students. They find that both activities are positively connected with politically oriented activity on social media as well as the frequency with which one reads blogs. They also discover that the mechanisms that explain online political expression are both similar to and different from those that explain off-line attempts at persuasion in several key ways.

Political Participation and Mobilization after Mali’s 2012 Coup

2017 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce Whitehouse
Keyword(s):  
Political Participation ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Political Process ◽  
Political Engagement ◽  
Military Coup ◽  
The Political ◽  
Basic Services ◽  
Democratic System ◽  
Weak Rule ◽  
At Home

Abstract:If the sudden downfall of Mali’s officially democratic system in early 2012 surprised many observers, the failings of the Malian state—including public disaffection with the political process, weak rule of law, and inadequate delivery of basic services—were widely known both at home and abroad. Focusing on activists based in Bamako, this article assesses Malian civil society’s response to these challenges since the March 2012 military coup and considers prospects for wider political engagement by the Malian public.

A “Problem with No Name”

2020 ◽  
pp. 3-10
Author(s):  
Mona Lena Krook
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Violence Against Women ◽  
Political Engagement ◽  
The Political ◽  
Women In Politics ◽  
Political Careers ◽  
Politically Active ◽  
Final Group ◽  
Political Game

Chapter 1 introduces the concept of violence against women in politics and considers why violence against women in politics has remained hidden for so long. Testimonies from politically active women point to four reasons. Some women normalize violence as part of the political game and thus simply do not perceive it as a “problem” (a cognitive gap). Others recognize that violence is not an acceptable cost of political engagement, but nonetheless remain quiet to protect their political careers and/or their political parties (a political gap), or to avoid scorn or blame from others for purportedly bringing the abuse upon themselves (a receptivity gap). A final group would speak out but feels there is no one to tell or no adequate language to describe their experiences (a resources gap). The chapter concludes with an overview of the volume.

The Political Strategies and Unity of the American Corporate Inner Circle: Evidence from Political Donations, 1982–2000

2018 ◽  
Vol 66 (4) ◽  
pp. 580-608
Author(s):  
Jennifer A Heerwig ◽  
Joshua Murray
Keyword(s):  
Political Action ◽  
The United States ◽  
Political Orientation ◽  
Political Activity ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Strategies ◽  
Corporate Elite ◽  
Inner Circle ◽  
Corporate Elites

Abstract Recent work has offered competing explanations for the long-term evolution of corporate political action in the United States. In one, scholars have theorized that long-term structural changes in the American political and economic landscape may have radically transformed inter-corporate network structures and changed the political orientation of corporate elites. In another, a small group of corporate elites continues to dominate government policy by advocating for class-wide interests through occupying key positions in government and policy planning groups. We offer new evidence of patterns in and predictors of political strategies among the nation’s elite corporate directors. We utilize an original dataset (the Longitudinal Elite Contributor Database) linked with registries of corporate directors and their board memberships. We ask: (1) has the political activity, unity, or pragmatism of the corporate elite declined since 1982; and (2) are individuals who direct multiple firms more pragmatic in their political action? Evidence suggests that corporate elites are more politically active and unified, and continue to exercise pragmatic political strategies vis-à-vis their campaign donations. Using random- and fixed-effects models, we present evidence to suggest that becoming a member of the inner circle has a significant moderating effect on elite political behavior. We offer an alternative mechanism of elite coordination that may help explain the continued political cohesion of the corporate elite.

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