Interest Groups
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Objectives
• Differentiate between interest groups and political parties, and
understand the role each type of group plays in American
politics.
• Describe the key historical events that led to the development
of national interest groups, and identify the actors that
contributed to their rise.
• Explain how the problems of free riders can complicate an
interest group’s efforts to organize, recruit, and maintain
membership.
• Identify the types of resources interest groups use to influence
policy and explain how the availability of each resources can
determine a group’s tactical decision making.
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Objectives
• Describe the two broad categories of tactics that interest groups
employ to influence officials as well as what makes each set of
tactics effective or ineffective.
• Identify the factors that determine whether an interest group will
succeed or fail in accomplishing its policy goals.
• Examine the issues that affect how accurately and equally
interest groups represent the concerns of all segments of
American society.
• Understand the roots of interest group reform and whether
these reforms transformed interest group behavior.
• Define the social movement and what distinguishes it from
other types of interest groups.
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Why are we the
way we are?
Why does it
matter to you?
How well do
interest groups
represent all
interests and
bring them the
government’s
attention?
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Core
Questions:
Interest Groups in American Politics
• Interest groups: a group of people
organized to influence government
policies.
• Different from parties
• Parties’ central concern is getting their
candidate elected
• Interest groups focus on policy
• Emphasize organizing and mobilizing
supporters and lobbying to persuade
officials to enact a policy.
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The Rise of Interest Groups
• Key events in the development of national interest
groups:
• Civil War
• Abolition movement
• Civilian groups support war; organize after the war to support
veterans
• Women’s Christian Temperance Union
• Onset of the Progressive movement
• Reform oriented groups
• Expansion of government activity after World War II
• Regulation and response to expansion of government
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The Problem of Free Riders
• Public goods
• A good that is indivisible;
everyone receives it
once it is produced.
• Free riders
• Individuals who decide
not to help produce the
good knowing that it
cannot be denied to
anyone. They get their
share without
contributing.
• Different types of groups
deal with this problem in
a variety of ways:
• Trade, Ag, and
Professional Associations
• Selective benefits
• Trade Unions
• Dues, selective benefits
• Citizen Groups
• Satisfaction of joining and
pleasure at working toward a
goal collectively
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Sources of Influence for Interest Groups
• Money gives an interest group the resources to DO things: hire
lobbying firm, contribute to candidates’ campaigns, run their own
advertising on their issues.
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Sources of Influence for Interest Groups
• Members are important to interest groups.
A broad and active body of supporters in the population can
be a potent recourse for a group.
• Potential voters
• Source of labor for calls and emails to members of
Congress
• National Rifle Association (NRA) has an estimated 4.3
million members
• Trade associations and corporation can mobilize grassroots
• Citizen groups are especially strong in this area: mobilization
•
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Sources of Influence for Interest Groups
• Technical Expertise is important especially
in lobbying efforts.
Provide this information to members of Congress, often in
congressional hearings.
• Interest groups also receive help with technical information
from think tanks. These are independent foundations that
specialize in research on public policy.
• Think tanks often lean left or right and thus ally themselves
with particular parties and interest groups.
•
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Sources of Influence for Interest Groups
• Political Information is an important asset
to interest groups as it gives them leverage over
members of Congress.
•
For example on a particular bill, the interest group may
inform a member of Congress:
How its members stand and how it will impact their
support of the member of Congress.
•
•
•
How might it affect other voters in the district?
Who else supports it on the Hill, and how this might
affect passage.
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Sources of Influence for Interest Groups
• Group Reputation and Sympathy is
an intangible resource.
•
•
•
Can be important. Are they respected? Trusted? Does the
public sympathize with their cause?
Red Cross, veterans organizations on the positive end
BP? Not a lot of positive support after the oil spill in the
Gulf. They had to work hard to generate more positive
feelings.
Economic interests do not benefit as much from this type
of influence, but citizens groups do.
•
•
•
Amnesty International, for example.
Can you think of others?
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Interest Group Tactics
Inside Tactics:
Outside Tactics:
direct contact with legislators
influence legislators indirectly
• Lobbying
• Attempting to persuade
officials to enact a policy
• Litigation
• Amicus brief: formal document
filed in a court case by a
group not involved as a direct
participant in the case,
arguing one side or the other.
Coalition formation used both
with inside and outside tactics.
• Grassroots lobbying
• Mobilizing supporters to bring
pressure to legislator
• Campaign contributions
• PACS
• Campaign assistance
• Group ratings
• Advocacy advertisements
• Demonstrations, protests
and boycotts
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Choice of Tactics
• How often do organizations use these tactics? Fewer
groups engage in litigation, electoral activity or protests than
engage in lobbying and grassroots lobbying.
• Not all groups do the same things.
• Different mixes of resources lead to different choices of
tactics.
• Unions with large committed membership and considerable
financial resources may use campaign assistance, advocacy
ads, and lobbying.
• Immigrant groups may have supporters, but little money:
likely to use demonstrations or grassroots lobbying tactics.
• Corporations have money, but not mass memberships:
campaign contributions and technical expertise.
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Determinants of Groups’ Success or
Failure
• How do the various resources available to interest groups determine
how successful they will be in accomplishing their policy goals?
• Resources count: money and membership
• BUT even groups with many resources have an uphill battle as other
groups may be lobbying for the other side of the issue.
• Two factors are very important in determining if they will succeed:
A “champion” in the
legislature or Congress
Being able to garner attention
in a crowded legislative arena
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Representation & Organization of Public Opinion
Interest groups tend to represent the concerns of wealthy
individuals more than those who are not so well-off.
Producer interests, those involved in making a product, are
easier to organize than consumer interests, those who
purchase the product.
•
•
•
•
Producer Interests: may involve multiple interests: trade union, a
corporation, a trade union. Microsoft Corp., United Auto Workers,
National Farmer’s Union
Consumer Interests: Public Citizen, National Association of
Homebuyers
Some groups enjoy other special advantages that make it
easier for them to organize and influence officials.
•
•
•
•
Contiguous residence
Age
Strategic location
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Interest Group Reform
• Restriction of Activities
• Usually related to campaign activities and lobbying activities
• 2007 Honest Leadership and Open Government Act used to strengthen
earlier act, Lobbying Disclosure Act (1995)
• No revolving door for one to two years
• Federal crime for lobbyist to provide gifts or meals to government officials
and staff
• Bars former senators who are now lobbyists from walking onto the Senate
floor or going to the Senate gym
• Increasing Transparency
• Continued registration and disclosure of lobbyists and their activities
• Must submit report of their activities four times a year; detailing all
campaign contributions and all meetings with officials.
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• A unique kind of interest group that is loosely
coordinated rather than formally organized
• Some have had a major impact:
• Feminist movement of the 1960s
• Anti-globalization protests against WTO in 1999
• Tea Party movement 2009
• Often based on underrepresented groups in society
that did not have many political resources
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Social Movements
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Disadvantages
Advantages
• Not so organized generally,
no staff or structure
• Difficult to generate
resources
• No specialized expertise to
offer government officials
• Cannot monitor ongoing
policy activity
• Can respond explosively to
a single event or cause, but
not good at continual
oversight
• Draw lively media attention
to their cause via
demonstrations.
• May morph into a more
traditional interest group.
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Social Movements
• Civil rights movement evolved
into a number of interest
groups including the NAACP.
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