Interest Groups & Political Parties

Interest Groups & Political Parties
Instructor: D.M. Wang
•An interest group can become a pressure group.
–Example: A labor union may use union dues
paid by members to help in its lobbying for a
law to reduce competition.
•A pressure group supplies, not necessary, interest
group services.
–Example: A doctor’s asociation that provides
information about new medicines.
Defining interest group
•An organization of people that shared policy
goals entering the policy process at several points
to try to achieve those goals.
•Some defines interest group as a collective of
members with common interests, while pressure
group as a collective whose members want to
influence policies and laws.
Functions of interest group
•Raise awareness and stimulate interest in public
affairs by educating their members and the public.
•Represent membership, serving as a link between
members and government.
•Provide information to government, especially
data adding testimony is useful in making public
policy.
•Provide channels for political participation that
enable citizens to work together to achieve a
common goal.
Iron Triangle (Sub-government) Types of interest groups
•Almond & Powell (1978) categorized four types of
interest groups:
–Anomic/anomalistic groups:
a group of people spontaneously gathering
together. They pursue their interests and wills for
an accidental event. The action may resorts to a
riot.
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–Non-associational groups:
informal organization like anomic interest groups.
But the “members” of the same group share some
common characters, such as race, language,
religion, culture, occupation, etc. They may take
joint action when necessary.
–Associational groups:
the most narrow definition of interest groups.
People are organized together specifically for
pursuing the common interests of its members.
•Heywood (1997) categorized three types of
interest groups:
–Communal groups:
The members are framed in the social context
because of their identity, such as on their family,
castes, race etc. They are based on the shared
heritage and emotional connection, and not
formally organized.
–Associational groups:
Same with Almond & Powel’s definition. People
are volunteer to participate and take actions, with
common interests, expectations, and attitudes.
Heywood thinks they may also distinguish some
with more for social identity and some with more
implementation purpose.
–Institutional groups:
this type of group does not emerge independently.
A formal, and purposive institute, such as a
bureaucracy, party, church, or corporation,
decides to take extra action to pursue their
common interests.
–Institutional groups:
Similar with Almond & Powel’s definition. They
are actually party of government institution, trying
to make an influence within the system.
Heywood thinks these groups may appear both in
the democracy and authoritarian.
These group may ally with traditional interest
groups, such as “military-industrial complex”in
defense purchase.
•Grassroots
–Grassroots is a movement driven by the politics of
a community.
–The term implies that the creation of the
movement and the group supporting it are natural
and spontaneous.
•http://www.grassroots.org/
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•Tea Party Movement
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4-c2SAjLFA
4. Pay bribes or give favors, including revolving door.
5. Write bills and help legislators make logrolling
agreements.
6. Attempt to influence members of the executive
branch.
7. Going public
Political Action Committee (PAC)
•A committee, non-profit organization, set up to
raise and spend money on campaigns and
candidates.
•In 1971, Congress passed the Federal Election
Campaign Act (FECA), and the amendments to
FECA in 1974 defined how a PAC could operate.
How the interest groups put pressure
1. Inform the lawmakers of its members'
preferences.
2. Give money or time to help with an election
campaign.
3. Threaten, as a group, to vote as a bloc:
–For a legislator who helps them.
–Against a legislator who does not help them.
Lobbying
•Legally defined as communicating on behalf of a
paying client with officials in the legislative or
executive branches, in an attempt to influence
legislation.
•In US, it is regulated by the Federal Regulation
Lobbying Act of 1946.
•Ruled by Federal Election Commission (FEC), PAC
refers to two distinct types:
–Separate segregated funds (SSFs):
established and administrated by corporations,
labor unions, membership organizations, or trade
associations. These committee can only solicit
contributions from individuals associated with
connected or sponsoring organization.
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–Non-connected committees:
As their name suggests, they are not sponsored by
or connected to any of the aforementioned
entities and are free to solicit contributions from
the general public.
•Super PACs, known as "independent-expenditure
only committees," may not make contributions to
candidate campaigns or parties, but may engage
in unlimited political spending independently of
the campaigns. Also unlike traditional PACs, they
can raise funds from corporations, unions, other
groups and individuals, without legal limits.
•Pluralism:
–Politics is mainly a competition among groups,
each one pressing for its own preferred policies.
–Many centers of power and many diverse,
competing groups.
–No group wins or loses all the time, that is, no
group becomes too dominate.
–Group weak in one resource can rely on another
resource.
The Growth of PACs
Perspectives of interest group politics
•Pluralism
•Hyperpluralist viewpoint
•Elite theory
•Corporatism
•Logic of collective action
–Groups play by the rule.
–Groups provide the key link between the people
and the government.
–Lobbying is transparent and open to all, therefore,
not a problem.
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•Hyperpluralism
–Extreme, exaggerated form of pluralism.
–Groups are so strong and the function of
government is weakened.
–Iron triangle keeps the government from working
properly.
–Interest groups becomes too powerful because
the government tries to serve every interest.
•Elitism:
–Society is divided along class lines and the upperclass
elite will rule, regardless of the formal
niceties of governmental organization.
–Numerous groups mean little, the power is not
equally divided among them –some have much
more.
–The largest corporations hold the most power.
•Corporatism
–also known as corporativism, has more than one
definition.
–Corporatism may refer to “tripartism” involving
negotiations between business, labor, and state to
establish policy.
–The state coordinates and controls different
interest groups to make sure the policy and
development consistence.
–Many subgovernments (iron triangles) aggravate
the process.
–When the government tries to please all the
interests, the policies become too confusing and
contradictory.
–But with more interest groups involved, these
subgovernments may be dissolving.
–The power is strengthened by a system of
interlocking directorates of these corporations and
other institutions.
–Corporate elites are willing to lose the minor
policy battles, but work to win the major policy
issues in their favor.
–Lobbying is a problem because it benefits the few
at the expense of the many.
–The earlier version of state corporatism also
involves the legalized and monopolized interest
groups, business and labor, form the state.
Therefore, the state in fact has the overwhelming
power over the groups.
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•Logic of collective action
–Olson (1965) famous theory of explaining the
ineffectiveness of large interest groups.
–Joint benefits of influencing legislators imply a
free rider problem.
–The bigger the group, the larger the free rider
problem.
–Small groups are better organized and more focus
on the group’s goal.
Incentives to join
•Purposive incentives
–Goal/purpose of the organization itself.
•Material incentives
–Money, services, resources, etc.
•Solidary incentive
–Pleasure, companionship, etc.
Differences between interest groups
and political parties
•Political parties have nomination function and
fight election batles, while interest groups don’t.
(but they may choose sides)
•Political parties focus mainly on the candidates,
while interest groups focus on the issues.
–Especially in the case of an exploitative law, other
things equal, an interest group that is small is
more likely to form than one that is large.
–The consumer groups have a difficult time to
achieve significant policy gains –the benefits are
spread over the entire population.
–How to explain effective large interest groups?
•Political party created democracy and modern
democracy is unthinkable save in terms of the
parties.
•The most important distinction in modern political
philosophy, the distinction between democracy and
dictatorship can be made best in terms of party
politics.
•The parties are not therefore merely appendages of
modern government;they are in the center of it and
play a determinative and creative role in it.
Schattschneider, Party Government, p.1
•Political parties are policy generalists; interest
groups are policy specialists.
•Interest groups are private organizations and are
not accountable to the public. Parties on the
other hand are held accountable by the voting
public.
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Why did the political party emerge?
http://www.vidoevo.com/yvideo.php?i=MW9YcGdac
WuRpOVNTdVU&political-parties
Is the party over?
http://www.economist.com/node/17306082
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