Chapter 12
Interest Groups
Interest Groups
 Different from political party
 Political parties tend to address a broader range of
issues (at least in United States)
 Want to influence what those in power do
 Group of like-minded people who organize to
influence policy
Interest Groups
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May exist just to lobby, or influence, policy
May exist for other reasons as well
Organization level varies greatly from group to group
Level of organization can affect effectiveness
Possible Issues
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Money
Leadership not in touch with membership
Organization
Leadership may not be democratically selected
Selective Incentives
 Benefits that can be given to some people and denied
to others
 Selective benefits can be offered to people in an
organization in addition to the central purposes of
the group
 Example: A trade union may offer members low-cost
vacation packages
 Reason some people join interest groups
Types of Interest Groups
1.
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Sectoral:
Represent a sector of the economy—corporation,
union, etc
Usually have more money
Usually more effective
Tend to dominate interest group systems
Types of Interest Groups
2.
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Institutional Groups:
Set up primarily for purposes other than political
activities
Become politically active only when need to
defend their issues
Example: Red Cross lobbying for funds for a
national emergency
Types of Interest Groups
3. Promotional Groups:
 Organize around a point-of-view or idea
 Examples: National Rifle Assn.
 Numbers of this type of group has grown in recent
years
 This types especially active and important in US
Tactics to Influence
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Control of information and expertise
Electoral activity
Use of Economic activity
Campaign contributions
Public Information Campaigns
Violence and disruption
Litigation/Lawsuits
Pluralism
 An idealized system where all interests (and interest
groups) can organize and compete freely and no one
group can dominate
 Government is open to influence from interest groups
 Varies greatly from state to state
Neocorporatism
 A system of government and interest groups where
all interests are organized
 However, instead of responding to groups efforts to
influence, government actively involves the groups in
the process of governing.
 This active government role is different than with
pluralism.