Mustafa Darraji – researcher
Introduction:
Interest groups, lobbyists, lobbies, or organized collective action have been characteristic of the American political system since its inception, referred to by more than one thinker, including the French (de Tocqueville) and English (Harold Laski) thinker.
Hence the importance of the emergence of interest groups as a response to a general trend among Americans towards uniting and forming groups or regulatory frameworks for collective action. and while not directly submitting candidates in the ballot process, However, they play essential and increasing roles in influencing the results of those elections in support or opposition to those seeking to hold public office, forming and guiding public opinion, and acquiring access to decision-makers in government.
Interest groups also meet, on foreign policy, with sectors of American public opinion in the face of international developments and challenges that require rapid and sustained responses; these developments need to be consistent with the values and beliefs of the broader American public s political decision-making, These are internal or local interest groups, and outside lobbyists are another advantage of the American system of government. After the end of the Cold War, the dissolution of the Soviet Union, and the uniqueness of the United States to guide the world order, outside lobbyists are becoming more prominent in the American system, groups that defend the interests of their home countries within the American system. by various legal and illegal means for the outputs of American foreign policy to be in the interests of their countries, The work of these groups also demonstrates the primary role of the United States of America in, and its leadership of, the international system and its hegemony over it.
Some countries that bring them together with the United States have lobbyists regardless of their hostility or friendship with the United States; India has lobbyists, as do Iran, China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iraq, and other countries.
This study shows the most important domestic and international lobbyists within the United States and how those groups work. And what are its most important functions? And the history of Iraqi-American relations? And the history of the Iraqi lobby in Washington? Highlighting the stages he went through, the issues he defended, and to answering these questions, this study was divided into two researchers. The second discusses the types of lobbying groups in the United States of America, divides them internally and externally, discusses the most important types of internal and external groups, what functions they perform, and what the most important means are: The Iraqi lobby in Washington highlights the stages of the emergence and development of the Iraqi lobby, And the factors that influenced his upbringing and evolution and what he was able to gain. And the stages he went through with different government systems and the nature of the interests he defends. In conclusion, we will highlight the march of the Iraqi lobby and the diagnosis of its strengths and weaknesses; what important recommendations must be made for the success of its work?