Interest Groups

1. Interest Groups Chapter 11

2. The Role and Reputation of Interest Groups • Defining Interest Groups • An organization of people with shared policy goal entering the policy process at several points to try to achieve those goals. Interest groups pursue their goals in many arenas. • Political Parties fight election battles, Interest Groups don’t - but they may choose sides. • Interest Groups are policy specialists, Political Parties are policy generalists.

3. Theories of Interest Group Politics • Pluralist Theory • Elite Theory • Hyperpluralist Theory Click on name to go to that slide.

4. Theories of Interest Group Politics - Pluralism • Definition: • Politics is mainly a competition among groups, each one pressing for its own preferred policies. • Many centers of power and many diverse, competing groups. • No group wins or loses all the time. • Groups provide the key link between the people and the government.

5. Theories of Interest Group Politics - Pluralism • Continued… • Groups compete • No group becomes too dominate • Groups play by the rules of the game • Groups weak in one resource can rely on another resource. • Lobbying is open to all, therefore, not a problem.

6. Theories of Interest Group Politics - Elitism • Definition: • Societies are divided along class lines and that an upper-class elite will rule, regardless of the formal niceties of governmental organization. • Numerous groups means nothing, power is not equally divided among them - some have much more. • The largest corporations hold the most power.

7. Theories of Interest Group Politics - Elitism • Continued… • The power is strengthened by a system of interlocking directorates of these corporations and other institutions. • Corporate elites are willing to lose the minor policy battles, but work to win the major policy issues in their favor. • Lobbying is a problem because it benefits the few at the expense of the many.

8. Theories of Interest Group Politics - Elitism • Perceptions of the Dominance of Big Interests (Figure 11.1)

9. Theories of Interest Group Politics - Hyperpluralism • Definition: • Groups are so strong that government is weakened. Extreme, exaggerated form of pluralism. • Iron Triangles keep government from working properly. • Interest groups have become too powerful since the government tries to serve every interest.

10. Theories of Interest Group Politics - Hyperpluralism • Continued… • The many subgovernments (iron triangles) aggravate the process. • When the government tries to please all the groups, the policies become confusing and contradictory. • But with more interest groups getting involved, these subgovernments may be dissolving.

11. What Makes an Interest Group Successful?

12. What Makes an Interest Group Successful? • The Surprising Ineffectiveness of Large Groups • Potential group: All the people who might be interest group members because they share a common interest. • Actual group: The part of the potential group consisting of members who actually join. • Collective group: Something of value that cannot be withheld from a group member

13. What Makes an Interest Group Successful? • Free-Rider problem: Some people don’t join interest groups because they benefit from the group’s activities without officially joining. • The bigger the group, the larger the free-rider problem. (Olson’s law of large groups) • Large groups are difficult to keep organized.

14. What Makes an Interest Group Successful? • Small groups are better organized and more focused on the group’s goals. • Thus consumer groups have a difficult time getting significant policy gains - the benefits are spread over the entire population. • Groups that can provide selective benefits is a way to overcome this problem.

15. What Makes an Interest Group Successful? • The Benefits of Membership in the AARP (Figure 11.2)

16. What Makes an Interest Group Successful? • Intensity • Single-Issue groups: Groups that focus on a narrow interest and dislike compromise. • Groups may focus on an emotional issue, providing them with a psychological advantage. • May be more likely to use protests and other means of political participation than traditional interest groups that use lobbyists.

17. What Makes an Interest Group Successful? • Financial Resources • Not all groups have equal amounts of money. • Monetary donations usually translate into access to the politicians - a phone call, a meeting, etc. • There is a bias towards the wealthier groups. • But, the wealthier groups don’t always win in the policy arena.

18. The Interest Group Explosion Figure 11.3

19. How Groups Try to Shape Policy • Lobbying • “communication by someone other than a citizen acting on his own behalf, directed to a governmental decisionmaker with the hope of influencing his decision.” (Lester Milbrath) • Two basic types: Those that are employed by a group, and those that are hired temporarily.

20. How Groups Try to Shape Policy • Lobbyists are a source of information. • Lobbyists can help politicians plan political strategies for legislation. • Lobbyists can help politicians plan political strategies for reelection campaigns. • Lobbyists can provide ideas and innovations that can be turned into policies that the politician can take credit for.

21. How Groups Try to Shape Policy • Electioneering • Direct group involvement in the election process. • Political Action Committee (PAC): Used by interest groups to donate money to candidates. • PACs help pay the bill for increasing campaign costs. • Most PAC money goes to incumbents.

22. How Groups Try to Shape Policy • Litigation • If an interest group fails in one area, the courts may be able to provide a remedy. • Interest groups can file amicus curiae briefs in court cases to support their position. • Class Action lawsuits permit small groups of people to try and correct a situation on behalf of a much larger group.

23. How Groups Try to Shape Policy • Going Public • Groups try and cultivate a good public image. • Groups use marketing strategies to influence public opinion of the group and its issues. • Groups will purchase advertising to motivate the public about an issue.

24. Types of Interest Groups • Economic Interests • Labor • Agriculture • Business • Environmental Interests • Equality Interests • Consumer and Public Interest Lobbies

25. Understanding Interest Groups • Interest Groups and Democracy • A wide open government would force groups to compete and counterbalance each other. • More groups mean more lobbyists and thus better democracy to some. • Others argue that groups are not equal and some get more than they should, which is not good for democracy.

26. Understanding Interest Groups • Interest Groups and the Scope of Government • Interest groups seek to maintain policies and programs that benefit them. • Interest groups continue to pressure government to do more things. • But as the government does more things, does that cause the formation of more groups?