Pressure Groups

11 Key excerpts on "Pressure Groups"

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  eBook - PDF

  Pressure Groups in British Politics

  • W.N. Coxall(Author)
  • 2014(Publication Date)
  • Routledge

    (Publisher)

  Pressure Groups help to shape the central political issues of the distribution of society’s resources and the nature of the society itself. In examining the role of Pressure Groups in the political system, this book aims to shed light on what the political scientist S.E. Finer described as an ‘anonymous empire’. Successive chapters define them, look at their develop-ment since 1945, consider their relations with Europe, government, parliament and public opinion, examine the factors shaping their political influence, and analyse their importance fof democracy. This chapter intro-duces the subject: it defines Pressure Groups, describes the different ways in which they have been characterised by political scientists, considers their functions within the political system, examines the targets of their activities, and offers a brief overview of their role in a democracy. It begins by considering the groups themselves. What are Pressure Groups? Defining Pressure Groups Pressure Groups are like political parties in that they aim to influence the making and implementation of political decisions. However, Pressure Groups do not seek to do this by standing for election in order to form the government as parties do, but by lobbying decision-makers, by seeking to influence them directly or indirectly in a particular direction. Groups like the Pro-Life Alliance which aimed to repeal the 1967 Abortion Act and put forward 53 candidates in the 1997 general election, or the Referendum Party which put forward a massive 547 candidates in that election, are only apparent exceptions to this rule. For these groups had no hope of forming a government; rather they stood for publicity, to make a political point for a cause -respectively, against abortion and for a referendum on Europe. They may therefore be regarded as Pressure Groups seeking to influence public policy rather than as parties which want to exercise power directly.

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  The American Political Process

  • Alan Grant(Author)
  • 2019(Publication Date)
  • Taylor & Francis

    (Publisher)

  5 Pressure Group Politics

  We have observed already that politics in the United States can be seen as a continuous process of different groups competing to persuade the formal institutions to reflect their interests and objectives in the official policies of the nation, state or locality.1 Having examined the working of the three branches of the federal government, it is now time to consider how these groups operate, what contribution they make to the political process, and how the political system provides checks on their power.

  Pressure Groups and political parties are often described as ‘informal’ political institutions, because although they are not mentioned in the Constitution as official bodies, an understanding of their role in the system is essential for a proper appreciation of policy making. Indeed, in our consideration of the formal institutions the importance of these bodies should already have been clear. Pressure Groups are organized attempts to influence government policy rather than institutions which try to control the government and enter candidates in elections for office. In this respect they are different from parties, which are examined in the next chapter. Pressure Groups should also be distinguished from the many social groups that exist to promote objectives that have no political content—sports clubs, operatic societies, rotary clubs, parent-teacher associations and private charities are formed by groups of people who have similar interests, but their common activities do not normally involve government or attempts to influence its policy. On the other hand, if there is the danger of a major highway being built across the sports club’s field, or if the government proposes to change the tax status of a charity, then even these groups may enter the political arena.

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  American Political Process

  • Alan Grant(Author)
  • 2003(Publication Date)
  • Routledge

    (Publisher)

  Public opinion can act as a constraint on the power of even the most deeply entrenched and influential Pressure Groups. Public suspicion means that groups’ claims are often regarded with scepticism and their motives and policies are constantly being examined and questioned. Pressure Groups may be able to delay action for a while, but if there is widespread public support for a particular policy, as evidenced by opinion polls and legislators’ constituency soundings, it may prove impossible to prevent legislation or the execution of a policy indefinitely. For example, the American Medical Association spent millions of dollars in their campaign against federal ‘socialized medicine’ but the strength of public support ensured the eventual passage of Medicare legislation in 1965.

  Chapter summary

  • The American political system is particularly open to the influence of Pressure Groups. The diversity of American society, the size of the country and the complexity of its economy have all helped to create a vast array of different groups seeking to influence public policy. The political culture, the decentralised nature of the political system which allows many access points where groups can lobby and persuade, and the relative weakness of political parties have all enabled Pressure Groups to play an important role in the policy-making process. In states that allow referendums and initiatives as forms of direct democracy Pressure Groups can influence the voters who can make decisions on policy matters themselves.
  • Pressure Groups fall into two main categories: interest groups whose goals are to protect, defend and promote the interests of their own members and promotional groups which are trying to secure political objectives which are in the interests of people other than themselves or to promote a cause which they believe is in the interests of society as a whole. Some organisations are also variously described as ‘citizens’ groups’, ‘public-interest groups’ and ‘single-issue groups’.
  • There are a number of methods which Pressure Groups legitimately use to influence government and public policy. These are electioneering and contributing financially to candidates’ campaigns, lobbying, court litigation, grass-roots pressure by their members including participation in marches and demonstrations, publicity and advertising through the media and seeking to influence the policies of the political parties. A small minority of groups is willing to break the law and resort to violence and the promotion of civic disorder in order to achieve their goals.

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  Foundations of Comparative Politics

  Democracies of the Modern World

  • Kenneth Newton, Jan W. van Deth(Authors)
  • 2021(Publication Date)
  • Cambridge University Press

    (Publisher)

  For example, the farming lobby in the US is wealthy and well organised and has close, intimate working relations with government policy makers. ■ International NGOs Pressure Groups have never been con fi ned to domestic politics, but inter-national groups are now more visible and active than ever before. Barely a week Tri-partism A looser and less centralised system of decision-making than corporatism involving close government consultation – often with business and trade union organisations. Policy communities Small, stable and consensual groupings of government of fi cials and pressure group representatives that form around particular issue areas. Policy networks Compared with policy communities, policy networks are larger, looser (and sometimes more con fl ictual) networks that gather around a policy area. ‘ Iron triangles ’ The close, three-sided working relationship developed between (1) government departments and ministries, (2) Pressure Groups and (3) politicians, that makes public policy in a given area. Pressure Groups and Social Movements 219 passes without a major news story that involves Amnesty International, Greenpeace, Médecins Sans Frontières, Transparency International or the Red Cross. Organisations like these form an increasingly dense network alongside the growing number of agencies of international governance such as the OECD, the UN and the WTO (see Brie fi ng 10.4 ). As with domestic Pressure Groups, the international NGOs we hear about most are not necessarily the most powerful. Environmental groups and Amnesty International are certainly not weak, but they can rarely match the power of business organisations. We will return to them in the concluding chapter of the book. ■ Groups, Pressure Groups and Democracy Freedom of assembly and association is an essential part of any democratic system, and all groups have a right to be heard and to try to in fl uence public policy in a peaceful manner.

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  Gateways to Democracy

  • John Geer, Richard Herrera, Wendy Schiller, Jeffrey Segal(Authors)
  • 2017(Publication Date)
  • Cengage Learning EMEA

    (Publisher)

  The intensity with which each side holds its position discourages cross-group dialogue and makes it harder for elected officials to achieve a reasonable and widely acceptable resolution of the issue. Because an interest group seeks a favorable government response on a narrowly defined issue important to that group, the group can also create imbalances that verge on inequalities. Foreign Policy and International Groups Some interest groups address cross-border concerns. Foreign policy groups form to gener- ate support for favorable U.S. policies toward one or several foreign countries. International aid groups encourage citizens to provide voluntary assistance to people in need all over the world. International groups concerned with human rights work to call attention to viola- tions in the hopes of ending oppression. Groups That Influence Foreign Policy. One of the best-known organizations that seek to influence foreign policy is the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). This group aims to ensure a strongly pro-Israel American foreign policy and uses public advocacy, member mobilization, and campaign contributions to influence members of Con- gress to support its goals. AIPAC first formed in the early 1950s, and it claims credit for get- ting the first aid package to Israel—$65 million to help relocate Holocaust refugees—passed by Congress in 1951. 18 Today, AIPAC has more than one hundred thousand active members and is widely considered to be one of the most influential groups of its kind in Washington. Groups That Advocate International Aid and Support for Human Rights. Religious organizations often encourage members to provide international assistance. For example, Catholic Relief Services sponsors the Global Solidarity Network, which allows college students to communicate with people living in small villages or towns in developing countries.

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  Understanding Democratic Politics

  An Introduction

  • Roland Axtmann(Author)
  • 2003(Publication Date)
  • SAGE Publications Ltd

    (Publisher)

  16 Interest Groups Wyn Grant Interest groups are sometimes called Pressure Groups and at other times lobbies. In a classic definition, Mackenzie defines the subject of study as ‘the field of organized groups pos-sessing both formal structure and real com-mon interests, in so far as they influence the decisions of public bodies’ (Mackenzie, 1975: 397). The term ‘Pressure Groups’ has never been popular with those who organize themselves to influence government, and the term ‘lobby’ even less so. ‘Interest group’ has sometimes had a narrower connotation, that of the sectional interest seeking to defend its position. It has been customary to divide groups into two categories: ‘sectional’ groups and ‘promotional’ or ‘cause’ groups. The first type of group appeals to a defined category of members such as workers in a particular industry or profession. Examples include the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), the Transport and General Workers’ Union (TGWU) and the British Medical Association (BMA). The second type of group appeals in principle to the whole population who are invited to support a particular cause. Examples include Amnesty International, Greenpeace and the Royal Society for the Pro-tection of Birds (RSPB). Some groups, how-ever, prefer to recruit a more restricted membership, emphasizing quality rather than quantity. NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS In recent years there has been an increasing use of the term ‘non-governmental organiza-tion’. The term non-governmental organiza-tion (NGO) has been particularly developed within the context of the United Nations (UN), although it has gained a much wider application. Regulation 1996/31 defines NGOs as ‘any international organization which is not established by a governmental entity or international agreement’. The UN Charter itself made provision for formal par-ticipation of NGOs through the mechanism of consultative status granted through the UN Economic and Social Committee (ECOSOC).

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  An Elusive Hope

  State Reform in Syria 2000—2007

  • Amer Nizar Ghrawi(Author)
  • 2020(Publication Date)
  • De Gruyter

    (Publisher)

  These dimen-sions define the battlefield where the different domestic Pressure Groups will defend their interests when they collide with the initiated changes. As mentioned above, the domestic Pressure Groups cannot oppose the political leadership directly, but they can still apply many indirect methods to avoid expected damages. Slow implementation of decisions, freezing the imple-mentation for administrative reasons or other excuses, and finding excep-tions are just a few examples of how Pressure Groups can and do hamper the implementation of the political leadership’s decisions and protect their interests. The most influential and dynamic domestic pressure group actor is the business community, as the selective economic reform steps open up op-portunities for business. The overall business community contains a variety of different groups. Two groups that are effectively practicing influence on the state reform: influential monopolists, merchants, and industrialists on the one hand, and business groups that flourished within the rent-based economy, so called ‘parasite businesses’ that benefit from breaking the law and using their relations with the political leadership, influencing party members, top administrative officials, or public employees, on the other. The first group is without doubt the more influential because of its power-ful economic capacities. There exists a remarkable support from the private sector to the president, which was clearly and sincerely expressed in the presidential referendum of 2007. This support is one type of influence com-monly applied by this essential internal pressure group. In his previous 241 5 D OMESTIC P RESSURE G ROUPS seven years in office, the president initiated the third ‘Infitah’ which was positively esteemed by the business community in general (Sottimano and Selvik 2009).

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  Government and Politics of France

  • Anne Stevens(Author)
  • 2017(Publication Date)
  • Red Globe Press

    (Publisher)

  Other groups have turned to lobbying directly in Brussels, The State and Civil Society: Pressure and Interest Groups 245 an activity initially much discouraged by the French government which felt that ministers and officials were the only legitimate representatives of the one and indivisible state within international fora. The groups and politics Pre-emption and incorporation One of the ways in which Pressure Groups contribute to the political life of France is by the contribution of ideas and concerns to the general flow of political debate and competition, and by alerting public opinion to specific issues. The contribu-tion of the groups to the political development of the country in this way may seem indirect, but it can nevertheless be substantial. This is particularly true of the broader groupings of interests that are described above as ‘movements’. What occurs is a process familiar in relatively pluralist democracies: as an issue grows in salience and attracts public attention it may, though not necessarily without conflict, attract the attention of one or more of the organized political groups. The role of the group or movement is often to mobilize initial support and public inter-est. In some cases the issues will be sufficiently broad and radical to ensure that the movement continues, even after the issue has been incorporated within the political and administrative structures. In other cases the group or movement may dwindle as the issue moves into the mainstream political agenda. The ecology movement is an example of a movement that has faced the dilemmas of this process in a particularly visible and acute form throughout Europe. It is the case that for many of the movements their relative distance from the more structured and perhaps rigid institutions may result in greater scope for the expression of radical and creative ideas (Hayward, 1978).

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  American Government 3e

  • Glen Krutz, Sylvie Waskiewicz(Authors)
  • 2021(Publication Date)
  • Openstax

    (Publisher)

  Some interests are organizations, like businesses, corporations, or governments, which register to lobby, typically to obtain some benefit from the legislature. Other interest groups consist of dues-paying members who join a group, usually voluntarily. Some organizations band together, often joining trade associations that represent their industry or field. Interest groups represent either the public interest or private interests. Private interests often lobby government for particularized benefits, which are narrowly distributed. These benefits usually accrue to wealthier members of society. Public interests, on the other hand, try to represent a broad segment of society or even all persons. 10.2 Collective Action and Interest Group Formation Interest groups often have to contend with disincentives to participate, particularly when individuals realize their participation is not critical to a group’s success. People often free ride when they can obtain benefits without contributing to the costs of obtaining these benefits. To overcome these challenges, group leaders may offer incentives to members or potential members to help them mobilize. Groups that are small, wealthy, and/ or better organized are sometimes better able to overcome collective action problems. Sometimes external political, social, or economic disturbances result in interest group mobilization. 10.3 Interest Groups as Political Participation Interest groups afford people the opportunity to become more civically engaged. Socioeconomic status is an important predictor of who will likely join groups. The number and types of groups actively lobbying to get what they want from government have been increasing rapidly. Many business and public interest groups have arisen, and many new interests have developed due to technological advances, increased specialization of industry, and fragmentation of interests.

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  THE DEMOCRATIC DEBATE

  • Bruce Miroff, Raymond Seidelman, Todd Swanstrom, Tom De Luca(Authors)
  • 2014(Publication Date)
  • Cengage Learning EMEA

    (Publisher)

  Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. Chapter 10 Interest Group Politics: Popular Pressure or Elite Bias? 244 officials—at conventions, over lunch, and so forth. 33 Skilled lobbyists make decision makers dependent on them. Policy makers begin to call on the lobbyists, who become sources of hard-to-obtain information for overworked political staffs and government officials. As one legislative aide observed, My boss demands a speech and a statement for the Congressional Record for every bill we introduce or co-sponsor—and we have a lot of bills. I just can’t do it all myself. The better lobbyists, when they have a proposal they are pushing, bring it to me along with a couple of speeches, a Record insert, and a fact sheet. 34 A troubling aspect of lobbying is the so-called revolving door. Overall, about 50 percent of Washington lobbyists have prior government experience. When they leave govern-ment service, they get jobs with lobbying firms or interest groups, usually at much higher pay, exploiting their access and knowledge to the benefit of their clients. James Watt, former Secretary of the Interior under Ronald Reagan, reportedly received $250,000 from a client for a single phone call to a high-level official in the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). According to one study, 43 percent of representatives and senators who left Congress between 1998 and 2004 became lobbyists. 35 In the case of Billy Tauzin we saw how valuable former congressmen can be to wealthy special interests. Essentially, money buys access to the trusted connections between congressmen and their former colleagues. Outlawing bribes is easy. Outlawing cozy relationships is not.

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  The Palgrave Review of British Politics 2006

  • M. Rush, P. Giddings, M. Rush, P. Giddings(Authors)
  • 2007(Publication Date)
  • Palgrave Macmillan

    (Publisher)

  Pressure Politics 55 When individuals do fight for wider causes, it is also clear that the terms of their engagement are changing, and moving towards an attenuated form of involvement. … Supporting causes can just become part of a wider identity statement expressed through the sending of an occasional cheque and attendance at a pop concert-based rally. 4 Studies by Grant Jordan and his colleagues have shown that advocacy groups often have supporters rather than members. 5 ‘What is emerging is a pattern of campaigning groups run by professional staffers – effectively advocates without active members.’ 6 One aspect of this is the use of celebrity endorsements by advocacy groups, presumably thought to carry more weight than the views of the ordinary citizen, even if the person concerned has no expertise in the area. The reinforcement of social bias The reinforcement of social biases by pressure group activity has long been a theme of the pressure group literature. As Schattschneider observed: ‘The flaw in the pluralist heaven is that the heavenly chorus sings with a strong upper-class accent.’ 7 Social class formations are less important than they were and higher education and the skills it provides is often the best predictor of involvement. However, for socially excluded groups, such as the long-term unemployed and lone parents, the outcome is much the same. They are increasingly the target of government policy, yet if they have spokespersons at all they are professionals speaking on behalf of their ‘clients’. What is the case is that class has declined in importance as a social formation: ‘The evidence suggests that more collectivistic forms of participation have declined and that more individualist forms have come to the fore.’ 8 This matters because individualistic politics leads to a relative neglect of the impact on the polity or society as a whole as a result of the emphasis on demands for gratification of immediate personal needs.

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