POLS 3410 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Elite, Amicus Curiae

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03/12/3018 Lecture 11: Interest Groups
Interest Group Roles in American Politics
An interest group is an organization whose goal is to influence government
Interest groups inform their members about political developments
Iterest groups ouiate their eers’ ies to puli offiials, ofte through a lobbyist
(a person who contacts government officials on behalf of a particular cause or issue)
Mobilizing the public interest groups mobilize the public by encouraging groups of people to
act politically; they develop TV ads, urgent direct-mail alerts, Facebook postings, and tweets, all
meant to provoke action
What Interest Groups Do for Democracy
Pluralists hold that as long as the American political process is open to a wide range of
different groups, government policies should roughly correspond to public desires
Hyperpluralists fear that there are so many interests and groups that the entire system is
bogged down in a stalemate
Demosclerosis is the collective effect of the vast number of Washington lobbyists in slowing
the process of American democratic policymaking
Power elite theory is the view that a small handful of wealthy, influential Americans exercises
extensive control over government decisions
Types of Interest Groups
Economic groups seek financial and other resource benefits for their members
o Business groups promote the interests of corporations
o Labor groups represent workers from nearly all large industries in the US
o Trade and professional associations represent several (to hundreds) of companies or
professionals in a specific sector
Citizen or public-interest groups cover the political spectrum, and represent practically every
conceivable issue and group of people, even those at soiet’s argis
o Material benefits incentives to sign up or stay a member
o Expressive benefits values or deeply held beliefs that inspire individuals to join a public
interest group
o Solidarity benefits feeling of shared commitment and purpose by individuals who join
a public interest group
Interest Groups Past and Present
Intergovernmental and reverse lobbying
o 1960s advocacy explosion
The permanent lobby developed in previous eras, groups lobbied on a specific
topic and then receded until their issue came up again
The authors lae the adoa eplosio o the 96s irease i politial
activism
Interest Group Lobbyists in Action
Interest groups and the federal branches of government
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