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Interest groups and policy-making

Interest groups and policy-making. An initial view. Interest groups, along with parties, interpose themselves between the state and civil society Interest (or pressure groups) are groups which seek to influence, rather than control, government policy

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Interest groups and policy-making

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  1. Interest groups and policy-making

  2. An initial view • Interest groups, along with parties, interpose themselves between the state and civil society • Interest (or pressure groups) are groups which seek to influence, rather than control, government policy • Sometimes referred to as organized interests • Far more numerous than political parties in liberal democracies

  3. Varieties • Interests may be articulated by • Ethnic, linguistic or religious groups • Associations formed to represent or provide services to their members – • Clubs • Trade Unions, Professional Associations • Producer groups – diary farmers, steel manufactures • Associations advancing a particular cause: • Greenpeace • Sierra Club • Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) • Heart and Lung Association

  4. Explaining interest groups: • Society-centred explanations: • Interest groups are normal in a liberal democracy: • James Madison in The Federalist Papers (1787): • Interests (and interest groups) thrive wherever there is liberty • An expression of civil society • State-centred explanations: • policies generate interests: the more the state regulates, the more that interests will organize in order to shape the way in which they are regulated • The Case of the British Medical Association (BMA)

  5. Collective Action Problems The theory of collective action (from Mancur Olson, The Logic of Collective Action, 1968) • Self-interested individuals will be unwilling join associations if they can free ride can receive the benefits (collective goods) anyway • Predicts membership only in groups which provide specific benefits and not in groups which pursue the public interest • Problem: individuals do join promotional groups with little obvious or direct benefit

  6. Sectoral vs. peak associations • Sectoral groups: active in only one sector of the economy – e.g • Dairy farmers • Fisheries Union, • Fisheries Assoc. of Nfld and Labrador (FANL) • Steel Workers • Peak Association - a federation or confederation of sectoral groups • Conference Board of Canada • Canadian Labour Congress • Trade Union Congress (UK)

  7. Protective vs. Promotional Groups • Protective groups represent sectors of the economy: • National Farmers Union (UK) • Board of Trade, Chamber of Commerce • CUPE, NAPE, MUNFA, CAUT, AUCC • Canadian Medical Association • Promotional Groups: promoting a cause • National Rifle Association • Canadian Civil Liberties Association • CARAL, Right to Life • Metropolitan Drinking Fountain and Water Trough Association • NIMBY groups

  8. Access and activities: • Protective groups: • For many, principal function is to provide services to their members • However, • Also represent members’ interests to government via • Informal contacts with elected officials and bureaucrats • Serving on advisory councils or boards • Lobbying • Organizing promotional campaigns

  9. Channels of access • Vary from country to country and among interest groups • Interest groups try to go where the power is – if they can gain access • In the United States, to the Congress • In other liberal democracies, to government departments • where policies are formulated and • Where regulations drafted once a policy is put in place

  10. Protective vs. promotional groups • Protective groups often work quietly, most frequently through contacts with government bureaucracy • Often have greater influence on details of legislation and regulations implementing them than on the broader lines of government policy • Promotional groups rely more on the media, mass campaigns because they lack access to bureaucrats and policy-makers

  11. Why do government officials consult with interest groups? • Consultation sometimes required -- via advisory or consultative boards • Groups often provide valuable information and expertise • Groups can be used to explain government policy to their members

  12. Policy communities and issue networks: • Policy community: • A close-knit community of those most closely involved -- snug and cozy • Government officials • Key interest groups, including firms, interest groups, and employee or professional associations • E.g. organization of health or social welfare sectors in Germany • Issue network: a looser and more open network of those involved or interested

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