Clemens's research is focused on social movements, organizations, and American political development.
[1] At the University of Chicago, Clemens completed her dissertation supervised by Theda Skocpol, Wendy Griswold, and Edward O.
[6] Clemens's first book The People's Lobby: Organizational Innovation and the Rise of Interest Group Politics in the United States, 1890–1925, which derived from her dissertation research, argues that beginning in the late nineteenth century American politics was transformed from a system oriented around political party organizations and elections to one oriented around interest groups.
Clemens investigates the emergence of the people's lobby across the American states California, Washington, and Wisconsin, arguing that federalism allowed for distinct regional variations.
[8][9] Clemens's research developed in The People's Lobby is regarded as engaging with theories of sociological institutions with a focus on organizational innovation.