region to establish geographical boundaries of analysis. But these regional
studies have been the exception rather than the rule. Much more common
are individual state studies, such as the volumes in the series on govern-
ment in the fifty states published by the University of Nebraska Press. We
believe there are significant advantages to using regions in a comparative
examination of interest groups.

Interest groups have exerted enormous influence on the public-policy-
making process of all northeastern states. In fact, in most cases they have
been the dominant political forces. This is not to say that the literature on
northeastern politics ignores interest groups and their importance. There
are many treatments of group systems in the literature on individual states.
Yet, in virtually all these studies, including the University of Nebraska
series, interest groups are treated only incidentally. This book's focus on
interest groups provides a different perspective and therefore adds to the
general understanding of the politics of the Northeast and its individual
states.

But augmenting the general understanding of northeastern politics was
not one of the major purposes we had in mind when we first conceived of a
book on interest groups in the Northeast. This book was actually planned
as the fourth in a series of four books that we have co-edited on interest
groups in all fifty states. Each book focuses on a region of the country. The
first covered the thirteen western states and was published by the Univer-
sity of Utah Press, the second book (University of Alabama Press) covered
the South, the third book ( Iowa State University Press) focused on the
Midwest, and this book, on the northeastern states, is the fourth and final
regional volume. A fifth volume (to be published by Harper Collins) will
compare all fifty states and all four regions.

Seventy-eight political scientists were involved in the entire project,
which took eight years to complete. This is the most extensive treatment
of interest groups in the states yet produced. As with the other three re-
gional books, this one on the Northeast grew out of a sense of frustration.
We, and several colleagues throughout the country who are primarily inter-
ested in researching and teaching about interest groups, were particularly
concerned about the dearth of material, and especially hard data, on
groups at the state level. These books will serve as foundation material on
interest-group politics in the states.

In planning these regional books we identified four primary objectives
and one secondary objective. One major objective was to provide the first
overall analysis of interest groups in states where there was no existing

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