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Difficulty: MediumIron Triangles and Issue Networks

An aerospace defense contractor regularly provides campaign contributions to members of the House Committee on Armed Services. In turn, the committee increases funding for a new fighter jet program overseen by the Department of the Air Force. To complete the iron triangle, which of the following actions would the Department of the Air Force most likely take?

  1. A
    Providing direct campaign donations and voting mobilization for members of the House Committee on Armed Services.
  2. Awarding lucrative procurement contracts for the fighter jet program to the aerospace defense contractor.Answer
  3. C
    Lobbying the Supreme Court to rule against environmental regulations that limit defense manufacturing.
  4. D
    Inviting consumer advocacy groups and university researchers to join a task force to rewrite safety standards.

Answer

Awarding lucrative procurement contracts for the fighter jet program to the aerospace defense contractor.
The correct option is the one stating that the agency awards procurement contracts to the contractor. In an iron triangle, the bureaucratic agency provides benefits, such as favorable policy implementation or government contracts, to the interest group that supports its programs and budget.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the three actors in the scenario and map them to the components of an iron triangle.
The aerospace contractor is the interest group, the House Committee on Armed Services is the congressional committee, and the Department of the Air Force is the bureaucratic agency.
An iron triangle consists of these three specific components working in a closed, stable relationship.
2
Determine the direction of the resource exchanges described in the scenario.
The interest group provides electoral support (contributions) to the committee, and the committee provides funding to the agency. The missing interaction is the direct benefit provided by the bureaucratic agency to the interest group.
Iron triangles rely on mutually beneficial exchanges among all three nodes.
3
Identify the option that represents the benefit typically provided by a bureaucratic agency to an interest group.
Favorable administration, special favors, or contracts. Awarding procurement contracts to the defense contractor is the correct example of this benefit.
This completes the mutually supportive cycle of the iron triangle.

Key Concept

Iron Triangles
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Topics

Iron Triangles and Issue Networks

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