SSF1053_lecture_8_2013

8/13/2019 SSF1053_lecture_8_2013

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SSF1053 INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL SCIENCE

LECTURE 8

INTEREST GROUPS

I. INTEREST GROUPS

A. If political party is associated with the process of leadership selection and theorganization of government, an interest group, on the other hand, isconcerned primarily with trying to affect what those in power do.

B. The interest group is an organized group of citizens whose goals is to ensurethat the state follows certain policies.

C. Interest groups are not confined to democracies or open societies. All stateshave interest groups. Some do not permit a wide diversity of formallyorganized, politically active groups to exist, since this would seem threatening

to their governments. owever, even in such states, organizations set up forother purposes exert political influence to help mold government policies.

!. Interest groups are pro"a"ly the main vehicle in most states for representingpu"lic opinion and "ringing it to "ear in an organized way on thegovernmental authorities. #olitical parties cannot do this very well "ecausethey are involved in trying to ac$uire governmental power for themselves.This $uest for power forces parties to incorporate many compromises in theirprograms to appeal to the "roadest spectrum of support.

II. TYPES OF INTEREST GROUPS

A. Associational interest groups%. They have a distinctive name, national head$uarters and professional

employees and use effective procedures for pursuing their interests.&. They include "usiness, industrial, trade associations, la"or unions,

professional associations, farmer groups, and the li'e.(. The num"er of associational groups is growing more and more in every

country.). *owadays, they are active participants in the political process and play an

effective role in "ringing changes in pu"lic policies.

B. *on+associational interest groups%. They do not have a name and lac' formal structures.&. owever, they are aware of their own distinctiveness from others "ecause

they possess similar characteristics and interests. They have a feeling oftheir own identity. But they reflect largely unarticulated social, ethnic,cultural or religious interests.

(. Such groups can "e found in all societies "ut they are more prevalent inthe economically and politically less developed countries of the Thirdorld.

C. Institutional interest groups

%. They exist within the government.

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&. They are well esta"lished, such as government "ureaucracies, mem"ersof armed forces, mem"ers of parliament, etc.

(. They have vested interests and they lo""y from the inside, often out ofpu"lic sight.

!. Anomic interest groups%. They are spontaneously "orn when people strongly oppose specific

policies. There is a serious pu"lic concern that demands immediatepolitical action.

&. The word anomie means a sense of separation from social norms.ithout any pre+planning or organization when the people want to showtheir disappointment a"out a particular government policy that group ofpeople is called anomic interest group.

(. -ven street riots can "e placed in this category.

III. TACTICS OF INTEREST GROUPS

The tactics an interest group will use are determined "y the sources of its powerand "y the opportunities that the political system offers for the use of power. Aninterest group with many mem"ers "ut little money will concentrate on tacticsthat ta'e advantage of num"ers rather than money, while a group with fewmem"ers "ut plenty of money will follow different tactics. roups that havesimilar sources of power "ut find themselves faced with different sorts of politicalstructures may also "e expected to follow different tactics. A. Control of information and expertise

%. Sometimes the mem"ers of an interest group control specializedinformation that is important to the government.

&. !octors, for example, are the only people with the necessary expertise to /udge the $uality of medical treatment. Scientists are the only onessufficiently s'illed technically to /udge a variety of scientific $uestions. 0ilcorporations 'now more a"out the oil "usiness than anyone else. In allthese cases, a government that wishes to ma'e policy relating to aninterest group must depend on the mem"ers of the group for thenecessary information and expertise.

(. This gives the group a great deal of power "ecause the resultinginterpretation of things is li'ely to "e slanted a good deal towards the

group1s pre/udices.). This tactic re$uires that relevant information and technical s'ills "escarce.

B. -lectoral activity%. -lectoral activity is especially suita"le for groups with a large num"er of

mem"ers who are at least moderately committed.&. Such groups may raise money from among its mem"ers to contri"ute to

candidates, provide campaign wor'ers to candidates, and deliver its ownmem"ers1 votes for candidates 2 all in an effort to ensure that peoplefavora"ly disposed to the group end up in office.

(. If the mem"ers of the group are not sufficiently committed to it to choosetheir vote on the "asis of its recommendations, this tactic is of little use.

&

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). roups that have used this tactic successfully include la"or unions, largereligious organizations, and ethnic groups.

C. 3se of economic power %. An interest group of economic importance to the state may influence the

state "y threatening to disrupt its economic contri"ution.&. Strategically placed unions, such as those of railroad or postal wor'ers,

have often "een a"le to enlist the government1s help "y threatening astri'e that would "e catastrophically disruptive to the state.

(. Businesses often threaten communities "y telling them that if they don1tgive them tax advantages or other considerations, they will move theiroperations elsewhere.

). This tactic re$uires that a large economic sta'e "e maneuvera"le. That isthe group must "e a"le to turn off a large enough part of the economy tothreaten dire results.

4. This can "e accomplished either "y a single corporation or "y a large

num"er of people who are willing to coordinate economic disruption.5. Another way in which economic power can "e used is in contri"utions to

political candidates. ere the group1s economic strength is not used toproduce threat of disruption "ut rather to "uy access to political leaders.

!. #u"lic information campaigns%. A group that does not necessarily have a large support "ase "ut does

have su"stantial access to the media may try to change policy "y themost indirect of means 2 "y changing the minds of the entire population inthe hope that this will influence government policy.

&. Institutional interest groups fre$uently use this tactic "ecause many othertactics are "arred to them.

(. This tactic is also useful for an interest group with enough money to "uyadvertising time, especially of other tactics do not loo' promising.

-. 6iolence and disruption%. An interest group may also try to dramatize its case "y violent or

disruptive activity or it may try "y violence and disruption to convince theleaders of the state that they will pay a high price in turmoil "y not yieldingto the group1s demands.

&. !isruptive "ut non+violent protest may "e an effective way for an interest

group to "ring attention to its cause, especially if it has few resourcesother than a dedicated mass following.(. owever, violence is also sometimes used. It may occur spontaneously or

it may "e organized as in campaigns of assassination and 'idnapping "yterrorist organizations.

). Terrorism is usually not an effective techni$ue as it is li'ely to cost thedisruptive group what pu"lic sympathy it has and to call forth strenuouseffort at control "y the authorities.

4. A group with a decent chance of accomplishing its goals "y other meansis not li'ely to use violence as a tactic.

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7. 8itigation%. In litigation, an interest group attempts to affect policy "y wor'ing within

the court system. In %94), a "lac' student with the help of an interestgroup, *ational Association for the Advancement of Colored #eople, suedher school "oard to force it to admit her to the white school and she won.

&. Through court cases, an interest group may hope to change theinterpretation of a law or, in some countries, even get it thrown out asunconstitutional. Also, court procedures can "e so slow and expensivethat the mere threat of tying a governmental agency up in court may getthe agency to compromise.

(. owever, litigation is a strategy "ased on wea'ness. 7or a group to "esuccessful at litigation, it must depend on the way laws was initially written 2 something over which it has little control if litigation is its main tactic. Itmust depend on finding a sympathetic court which is also rather chancy.

). The great appeal of litigation is that it does not re$uire large num"ers :allone has to have is a lawyer; or enormous economic power. Therefore, it

appeals particularly to small wea' groups.4. roups that have depended heavily on litigation in the 3S include

environmentalists, the handicapped, and groups favoring a"ortion rights.These are relatively wea' groups that have usually "een on the defensive.

The history of the civil rights movement in the 3S provides varied examples ofhow circumstances determine strategy. In the %9)<s and %94<s, the movementfor civil rights for "lac's was relatively wea'. The ma/ority of "lac's were still"arred from voting in the South= "lac's were poor and did not have a great dealof money to contri"ute= and the movement did not have many white allies, eitherin pu"lic office or outside it. The chief civil rights organization at this time was the*AAC#, and its chief tactic was litigation. It achieved several importantsuccesses in court, among other things overturning segregated schooling in theSouth and outlawing the exclusion of "lac' voters from primary elections.

ith the increase in support for civil rights in the %95<s and partly as a result ofthese successes, more money and resources "ecame availa"le to themovement. Blac's had "ecome "older politically= many more were willing tomarch in demonstrations to help draw attention to their cause, and they "egan toac$uire significant white allies. At this time, rival organizations wishing to usedifferent tactics appeared. The Congress on >acial -$uality :C0>-; and ?artin

8uther @ing, r.1s Southern Christian 8eadership Conference :SC8C; were twonew organizations that emphasized, as ways of attracting sympathy and forcingsegregationists to yield, the use of economic power and the provocation ofsegregationists into violence. ?assive demonstrations were held, re$uiring largenum"ers of dedicated "lac' and white participants. 6iolence of their own wasnever part of these leaders1 strategy "ut the provocation of white violence wasuseful, and the "lac' ur"an riots of %954+5, which occurred spontaneously,were used "y civil rights leaders as evidence for their claims that "lac's had to"e treated more fairly.

At this time, electoral activity was not especially emphasized "ecause, first,

during the %95<s many southern "lac's could not vote or were /ust ac$uiring thevote, and, second, demonstrations and disruption were proving to "e such

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powerful tools. By the %9<s and %9<s, however, demonstrations "egan to "eless effective. The pu"lic was more used to them and therefore less impressed"y them, and police and pu"lic officials had learned not to respond in thepictures$uely violent ways that demonstrators had once counted on. At the sametime, the electoral importance of "lac's had grown. The "lac' percentage of the

electorate in many northern cities had reached a point at which "lac's couldoften determine the outcome of mayoral and other elections. In the South, than'sto the gains of the %95<s, most "lac's were free to vote and could determinemany elections. In the %9<s and %9<s, accordingly, the activity of "lac' civilrights groups shifted to emphasize more their importance in elections.

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SSF1053_lecture_8_2013