American Politics
and Foreign Policy
Interest Group Politics
Prof. Jaechun Kim
Politics by Interest Groups
 Activities of Interest Groups and Passage of Aviation
Security Bill (2001. 11)
 November 2001, GWB signed into law an aviation security
bill…
 Before the bill was passed, security check at airports had
been the responsibility of the airlines and local airport
authorities…
 Usually they contract out the job to the private companies…
 The job required little experiences and education… little
background checks for airport security personnel…
 The demand for improved security after 911 – The Senate
favored making airport security a federal responsibility… and
making all screeners federal employees.
 But Airline Security Association (ASA) launched a major
lobbying effort to keep private corporations in business…
The initial proposal for the bill
Screeners should have been US citizens for at least five
years
Screeners, being federal employees, should be
prohibited from striking…
But most of the screeners had been the US
citizens for less than a year…
Groups that represent immigrants and the
Hispanic Americans lobbied against the
proposal…
Also unions lobbied against the proposal…
The End Result
 A compromise!!!
 Aviation security became a federal responsibility, and all
passenger and baggage screeners should become federal
employees within a year… (got rid of 5 year citizenship
requirement…!)
 After two years of this system, an airport could go back to
private contractors, but only under federal supervision…
American public wanted security, but still interested
parties continued to lobby and jockey over this
important legislation… !
Interest group politics is still intact even in times of
security crisis!
American Politics is Politics
by Interest Groups?:
(Prevalence of
Interest Group Politics in the US)
 Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America (1834) – “in no
country of the world has the principle of association been more
successfully used or applied to a greater multitude of objectives than
in America.”
 Toqueville was amazed at the degree to which Americans formed groups to
solve civic problems… to advance their political and economic interests…
 James Madison – “Liberty is to faction what air is to fire”
(Federalist No. 10) ..Warned that faction can be dangerous, but
inevitable…
 This is not just OK, but desirable… why?
 James Madison - The multitude of interests
would work to discourage the formation of an
oppressive larger minority or majority interest…
so interest groups politics is not that bad after
all… actually, good for preventing tyranny of
majority… !!
 Today there are more than a hundred thousand
associations in the United States. More than
two-thirds of all Americans belong to at least one
group or association. The majority of these
groups are interests groups…
Why So Many and So Powerful in the US?
Constitutional guarantee - Not only are all
people guaranteed the right “peaceably to
assemble,” but they are also guaranteed the
right “to petition the Government for a redress
of grievances.” (First Amendment to the U.S.
Constitution)  but this right is guaranteed
elsewhere!!
 Peculiarity of the American System of Governance
 Decentralized authority for decision-making…!!
 For instance, the federal system of government
provides thousands of “pressure points” for
interest group activity.
 Americans can form groups in their neighborhoods or
cities and lobby the city council and their state
government…
 Municipal, state, national level…
 Also separation of power helps proliferation of interest group
politics - groups can influence government policy through the
Congress or through one of the executive agencies or cabinet
departments.
 If this fails, you can file suit in state or federal courts…
 Openness of the American political system as a major factor in
the power of groups in American politics!
 Some say that, since parties are not that strong in the American
politics, interest groups fill in the void that parties have
left…(American parties are basically “catch-all party,” and party
leadership and structure is decentralized and party discipline is
weak).
Why Do (Americans) Join Interest Groups?
Solidary Incentives – companionship, a sense of
belonging, and the pleasure of associating…
Material Incentives e.g., AARP (the American Association of Retired Persons)
– one of the most powerful and largest interest groups;
provides discounts, insurance plans, and organized travel
opportunities for its members. The material incentives far
outweigh the membership costs ($12.50).
Purposive Incentives
 People join the group and then feel that they are doing
something about a cause that is important to them. e.g.,
groups focusing on the abortion or gun control…
Types of Interest Groups in the US
Economic Interest Groups (as opposed public interest
groups)
 More interest groups are formed to represent economic interests
than any other type of interests.
Business Interest Groups
• Thousands of business groups and trade associations work to
influence government policies that affect their respective sectors.
e.g.,
• The U.S. Chamber of Commerce - more than 200,000 member
companies; “umbrella group” that represent business interests
in general…; can bring constituent influence on virtually every
member of Congress
• The National Association of Manufacturers - a staff of more
than sixty people in Washington, D.C.; manufacturing
concerns…
• The American Pet Products Manufacturers Association –
manufacturers of pet food and pet toys… ; represent interests of pet
products manufacturers…
Agricultural Interest Groups
e.g.,
• The American Farm Bureau Federation, established in
1919, has over 4.9 million members.
• The National Farmers' Union (NFU) – more liberal
 In May 2002 President George W. Bush signed the Farm
Security and Rural Investment Act, which authorized the
largest agricultural subsidy act in US history.
Labor Interest Groups
• e.g., AFL-CIO
Interest groups representing the labor movement date
back to at least 1886 when the American Federation of
Labor (AFL) was formed. In 1955, the AFL joined forces
with the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO).
Today, the combined AFL-CIO is a large union with a
membership exceeding 13 million.
Public Employee Interest Groups
• The degree of unionization in the private sector has
declined since 1965, but this has been partially offset
by growth in the unionization of public employees. They
have become quite militant and are often involved in
illegal strikes.
• e.g., The National Education Association (NEA) - a
nationwide organization of about 2.5 million
administrators, teachers, and others connected with
education.
Environmental Groups (part of public interest groups)
 The groups range from the National Wildlife Federation,
with a membership of more than 4.5 million and an
emphasis on education, to the fairly elite Environmental
Defense Fund, with a membership of 300,000 and a
focus on influencing federal policy.
Public-Interest Groups (as opposed to economic
interest groups)
 e.g., Nader Organization – The best-known and
perhaps the most effective public-interest groups are
those organized under the leadership of consumer
activist Ralph Nader.
 Ralph Nader - Unsafe at Any Speed (1965); In 2000,
2004, Nader ran for president on the ticket of the Green
Party… ; champion of consumer interests..; sixty public
interest groups under his belt…
Tea Party Movements
– http://teapartypatriots.ning.com/
Other Interest Groups
 A number of interest groups focus on just one issue.
The abortion debate has created various groups
opposed to abortion (such as the Right to Life
organization) and groups in favor of abortion (such as
the National Abortion Rights Action League). NRA… etc.
Foreign Governments
 Washington, D.C., is also the center for lobbying by
foreign governments as well as private foreign interests;
largest American trading partners have lobbyists in
DC…
 Often times they hire former high rank government
officials…
What makes interest group powerful?
Size and Resources
 No legislator can deny the power of an interest group
that includes thousands of his or her own constituents
among its members….
 AFL-CIO – 13 million
 AARP – 35 million; represent 20 percent of the
population…
 These groups have money!! They can hire powerful
lobbyists … sponsor TV ads… etc.
Lobbying Techniques - Most lobbyists today are
professionals. Firms employ hundreds of former members
of Congress and former government officials, including
former presidential candidates such as Bob Dole and
Walter Mondale.
– Revolving door syndrome : leaving public officers reappearing
immediately as lobbyists – causing ethics problem…
The Ratings Game - Many interest groups attempt to
influence the overall behavior of legislators through their
rating systems. Congressman is given a score based on
the percentage of times he/she voted in favor of the group’s
positions… “Dirty Dozen” by the environmental group…
Interest Groups and Campaign Financing
 PAC(Political Action Committee) – direct contribution;
Congress people get more than 1/3 of their funding from
PACs…
 Indirect contribution by “Soft Money”; no longer a force???
… no it returned!
 Issue Advocacy Advertising – advertise their positions
on issues they advocate during the election periods…; not
allowed to tell “vote for” or “vote against”… but…still
exerts huge influence during election time…
Who Governs in the US?
Elite theory of governance
 Elite theory of governance - a perspective holding that society is ruled
by a small number of people who exercise power
• C.W. Mill, Power Elite (1956) – A small, cohesive elite class that
makes almost all the important decisions regarding the nation...
 Groups have upper-class bias (business or professional interests
groups are most powerful); leaders of groups are “elite within an elite”
 If interests groups are led by elites, upper-class people, what we see is
a conflict among elites…
 Unlike the intention of founding fathers, multitude of groups does not diffuse power…
rather groups politics tend to concentrate power…
 K Street Project… an effort by the Republican Party (GOP) to
pressure Washington lobbying firms to hire Republicans in top
positions, and to reward loyal GOP lobbyists with access to
influential officials,
 Ignorant mass public; smart elites – elitist policy produces better
outcomes (normatively)…
 Critiques – it’s “democracy for the few!”
Democracy for Groups
 Pluralist theory of governance – A theory that views politics as a
conflict among interest groups. Political decision-making is
characterized by bargaining and compromise among a variety of
groups.
• Robert Dahl, Who Governs? (1963) – Study of New Haven city
politics; it’s the groups that make crucial decisions…
 Politics is the struggle among groups to gain benefits
for their members.
 Given the structures of the American political system,
group conflicts tend to be settled by compromise and
accommodation so that each interest is satisfied to
some extent.!!! (Multiple pressure points – no single
interests can dominate…People have multiple
membership to different interest groups!)
Cf. The danger of hyperpluralism, meaning that
groups and their needs control the government and
decision making rather than the government's
acting for the good of the nation.
Which view do you think is more convincing?
Do interest groups help make government
responsive in the US? What about in your own
country?
– Indeed they do seem to help make
government responsive …
The task of government is too huge and diverse to
expect that citizens’ concerns will be properly
addressed by elected officials…
Interest groups can communicate these issues to
the elected officials…
But the problem is that interest groups do not
represent all interests… equally…
Business interests dominate in the US
– Concern of Obama..?!
Interest groups put more pressure on the elected
officials than voters…
Interest groups provide resources…
Politicians pursue agendas set by business
interests.. Captives of business interests.. Special
interests…
What about average people??