INTEREST GROUPS Topic #34. Interest Groups Definition: an interest group is –a group with common interests –that is organized –With the goal of influencing.

INTEREST GROUPS

Topic #34

Interest Groups• Definition: an interest group is

– a group with common interests– that is organized– With the goal of influencing government policy.

• Traditional and popular view:– interest groups are a sinister and corrupting force,– whose influence should be minimized.

• Dominant political science view:– Interest groups play a partially positive role, because

• most individuals can’t (or don’t) speak for themselves;• groups communicate problems and preferences to legislators

and other public officials; and• they represent functional vs. geographic groups (e.g.,

legislative constituencies)

Interest Groups (cont.)• Typical Elements of Organization:

– Name (see next slide)– Formal membership

• constitutional structure• often confederal (i.e., groups of groups)

– Members pay dues, giving the organization financial resources

– Officers:• President• Council

– Headquarters and staff• Executive Director• Public relations• legislative liaison • “hired gun” lobbying firms

Types

And

Varieties

of

Interest

Groups

Types and Varieties (cont.)

• Narrow (special) interest groups:– Trade Associations [confederations of corporations in

particular industries]• Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA)• Recording Industry Association (RIA)• American Petroleum Institute• Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America

(PhRMA) • National Association of Broadcasters (AAB)• National Bankers Association (NBA)• American Truckers Association (ATA)• Association of American Railroads (AAR)• Tobacco Institute

Types and Varieties (cont.)– Professional Associations:

• American Medical Association (AMA)– American College of Surgeons– American Academy of Family Physicians

• American Bar Association (ABA)– Trial Lawyers Association

• National Education Association (NEA)• American Political Science Association (APSA)

– Unions:• United Auto Workers (UAW)• International Brotherhood of Teamsters• American Federation of Teachers (AFT)• American Federation of State, County, and Municipal

Employees (AFSCME)

Types and Varieties (cont.)

• “Peak Associations”– Business

• National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) [a confederation of manufacturing corporations]

• U.S. Chamber of Commerce [a confederation of retail businesses]

• Business Roundtable• American Farm Bureau Federation

– Labor:• American Federation of Labor – Congress of Industrial

Organizations (AFL-CIO) [a confeder-ation of labor unions]

Types and Varieties (cont.)

• Single-Issue [or Issue Area] Groups– Anti-Saloon League– National Rifle Association (NRA)– American Automobile Association (AAA)– Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD)– National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL Pro-

Choice America)– National Right-to-Life Committee– Sierra Club– Environmental Defense Fund

Types and Varieties (cont.)

• Broad interest groups:– Demographic groups:

• American Association of Retired Persons (AARP)• National Organization of Women (NOW)• National Association for the Advancement of Colored People

(NAACP)• American Legion

– Ideological• Americans for Democratic Action (ADA) [liberal]• National Conservative Political Action Committee• People for the American Way [liberal]

Types and Varieties (cont.)

• Public interest groups:– Common Cause– Public Citizen [Ralph Nader]– Public Interest Research Groups (PIRG)

• Governmental Associations:– National Association of Counties– National Conference of State Legislatures– National League of Cities– U.S. Conference of Mayors

(Increasing) Prevalence of Interest Groups in American Politics

• Alexis de Toqueville: In no country in the world has the principle of association been more successfully used or applied to a greater multitude of objects than in America.

• Social pluralism (cf. Madison, Federalist #10)• Any government regulates, taxes, and spends in ways that affect

different groups differently, giving groups an incentive to influence government decisions.– A democratic government (with citizen rights) is in effect an invitation to

form interest groups.– A fragmented governmental system (separation of powers,

bicameralism, federalism, etc.) provides many points of influence.– Weak political parties mean that individual legislators (as opposed to a

few party leaders) can be profitably influenced by interest groups• The increased complexity of economy and society has

– increased reach of government activity, and– brings about “arms race” effects among groups (if our competitors are

organized, we have to get organized also).

Interest Group Activities• Direct services to members only (“selective incentives”):

– publications– insurance– AAA [originally founded to lobby for paved roads]: maps,

roadside service• Lobbyist activities:

– information from organization to decision makers– intelligence from decision makers to organization

• Insider lobbying (often behind the scenes and not very visible activity with respect to issues that get little public attention):– access (to legislators and other decision makers);– persuasion (try to convert legislators to your side on some

issue);– mobilization (try to get legislators who are already on your side

on some issue to become more active on this issue);– litigation.

Interest Group Activities (cont.)• Outsider pressure (more visible activities often with

respect to issues of general public concern):– public relations (influencing public opinion)– issue advocacy– mobilization

• letter writing campaigns, etc.• petitions• demonstrations, etc. [civil rights movement].

• Electoral activities (PACs [political action committees]):– Make campaign contributions (perhaps to both sides to get

access whoever wins) vs.– taking sides in elections

• endorsements• voter mobilization• coordinated or independent activities

The “Group Theory” of Politics• A common view among American scientists about 50 years ago

(e.g., (David Truman, The Governmental Process) : the public interest may be defined as compromises negotiated among organized interest groups and ratified in legislation.

• More recent critique of group theory: interests are not equally represented by organized groups (Mancur Olson, Logic of Collective Action) – Some groups are easier to organize than others: those characterized by

• small size,• geographical concentration,• a very high stake in policy/issue area, and/or• very intense preferences, and• not subject to crosscutting pressures.

– Free rider/collective action problems (emphasized by Olson; see K&J, Chapter 1)

• Values of selective incentives if available• narrowly shared intense preferences vs. widely shared shallow

preferences, e.g., – wheat farmers vs. people who eat bread and cereal,– produces vs. consumers generally

Interest Group Influence:“Public Opinion Rules”

Governing

Polarized [interest groups on both sides]

Majoritarian [interest groups on both sides]

Interest Group InfluencePublic Opinion Does Not Rule

Permissive: an unopposed interest group gets its way or several groups compromise

Intense Minority: an unopposed interest group probably gets it way (unless defeated by a “political entrepreneur”)

Factional: directly opposed interest groups fight it out (each tries, without much success, to bring public opinion to its side)