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| groups with members --> membership groups or associations |
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| group that umbrellas over other groups - known as a collective of institutions |
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| broad, loosely constructed groups of individuals who purportedly represent interests outside the traditional political system (environmental issues, women's issues, etc.) |
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| pressure/ special interest groups |
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| collection of individuals who will join together to become activists on a particular issue and gain recognition & influence to affect policy changes |
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| general term used to explain the variety of issues covered by interest groups and the mobilization around the development of these issues |
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| individuals hired by interest groups to influence politicians and the political process to favor their group and achieve their stated objective |
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Political Action Committees collect and distribute $ from individual donations to individual candidates & campaigns
- restrictions on how much can be donated ($5,000) |
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Super Political Action Committee - can raise and spend unlimited finds from corporations, unions or individuals towards a cause
- cannot donate toward a particular candidate
- Super PAC's must hand over list of donors to FEC |
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| commodity or service that is provided to the public without any cost (education, defense system, street lighting) |
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good that comes at a cost and isn't provided to all members of society
- benefits that come to membership in an interest group are exclusionary |
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| Action taken together by group whose goal is to enhance their status and achieve common goal |
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| collective action problem |
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situation where all individuals would benefit from cooperating together on a particular problem and achieving an outcome, but because it comes with a cost and people may not want to put in the work, one individual cannot solve the problem alone
- individuals alone produce a worse outcome than if they were working together collectively |
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| when an individual takes advantage of a public good without having contributed toward it |
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benefits only available to group members which would be difficult/ impossible to obtain without being a part of the group
- organizations help keep membership using it |
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| when individuals are forced to contribute to a good despite not benefitting from the good itself |
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| expressive/ purposive benefits |
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benefits derived from psychology/ feeling good about contributing to a worthy cause that resonates with you
- ideological, moral value to it |
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| camaraderie/ social interaction obtained from associated with like minded people with similar interests in a group |
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| the number of interest groups a political environment can sustain without running out of resources, space, members, etc. |
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interest groups dividing up resources and developing a fundamental niche to survive
- groups share resources and co-exist
- can only be achieved through the creation of distinct members and niche |
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| individuals who organize groups around a disturbance/ issue, manage resources, offer members selective benefits for membership |
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politically oriented groups of people who want advocacy, power, policy change in regards to a particular issue
- make demands in the political realm to achieve means politically |
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| historical relevance of interest groups |
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our country was founded on principles of expressiveness and freedom of the press
- ___ emerged and flourished because they provided an opportunity for citizens to take part in the political process |
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the idea that we have a number of competing interests in groups all of which are trying to achieve equilibrium
- perspective that if a group is important and people care about it, it will be represented by a group
- political system + interest groups = complementary solution where all desires are expressed and dealt with by the gov't
- assumes that if citizens aren't happy with a political outcome, they will seek redress through the gov't and the gov't will listen |
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assumes that all issues have equal representation
- many issues with strong representation are heavily funded/ more access to resources
- wealthy classes get their objectives achieved, whereas lower class doesn't due to lack of $
- ____ = elitist |
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| stages of political influence |
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1. Mobilization and Maintenance - steps are taken to ensure survival (mobilize members, get funding, etc.)
2. Interest community stage - group enters environment with other groups- interaction can be telling as to future survival of the group
3. Exercise political influence - tools are used to achieve political influence (test to see what works, what doesn't)
4. Policy and political outcome - see whether measures taken resulted in policy change/ political outcome |
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when there is a shift/ change in society, interest groups pop up around that change
- people weigh in on how to address that disturbance
- interest groups/ institutions provide structure, stability to deal with these disturbances
- already mobilized groups propose solutions to the problem -- if disturbance is too great, other groups mobilize to take its place |
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| rational action/ transactionist theory on mobilization |
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people join groups because of the direct benefits they will receive as a result
- benefits (expressive, soldiery, etc.) drive an individual towards a group |
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if benefits of being in a group outweigh the costs, people are more inclined to join groups
- people will join groups if it is in their interest/ if they want the byproducts/ benefits of a group |
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| Ways to enforce the collective action problem |
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| selective benefits, forced riding, peer pressure, smaller groups |
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| difference between rationality and imperfect rationality in relation to group mobilization/ maintenance |
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rationality - people will act in accordance with their interests
imperfect rationality - people don't always act according to their interests if they receive a benefit, even if it isn't related to their immediate goals
- organizers need to account for imperfect rationality -- need an enticing reason for someone to join a group |
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| funding sources for groups |
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| membership dues, federal subsidies, institutional/ business donors, private patrons |
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| interest group density measurement |
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Definition
lobby registration rolls/ PAC registration lists determine interest group communities (see # of groups in community)
- isn't an exact science because for many years the # of groups went unaccounted for |
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| interest group density according to pluralism |
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| defined by range of interest in a community and disturbances around group formation |
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| transactionist definition of interest group density |
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| defined by greater interest in particular interest groups and increased legislative spending -- more groups emerge as a result |
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| survival of interest group depends upon finding a particular niche for resources, group members, funding --> due to competition, there is a need to create a unique space to avoid competition |
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| dividing up resources - only using part of particular resources and sharing with other groups in order to co-exist and survive |
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when a disturbance occurs, groups pop up around that disturbance, but few survive past the adolescent phase to enter the legitimization phase
- groups are most likely to die during adolescence
- many groups pop up, but fewer last and survive |
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explains growth, development, permanence of IG's
- E - Energy = something at stake with policy, generates buzz
- S - Stability = absence of revolution - clear structure to deal with issues
- A - Area = available resources (potential members, funding, etc.) |
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| From ecological perspective, when a group system is affected by changing resources... |
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| group should change audience -- try and capitalize on a unique angle |
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| interest community diversity |
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diversity in range of topics / categories within a community
(Ex: environment - coal mining, emissions, etc.)
- some say interest group system is biased due to business interests, and the more capital to be gained the more represented an issue will be |
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| Pluralist theory of interest group community diversity |
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| groups are formed/ pop up because people express issues that are pertinent at the time (groups represented are reflection of current issues) |
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| transaction theory on community diversity |
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groups influence political direction -- some interests get more attention than others due to elitism and business interest
- business interests have high incentive to organize |
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| composition of interest community is most telling of diversity - groups respond to their members and reflect what is important to them |
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| understanding that for-profit organizations are more represented because they have higher stakes in public policy and stand for more $ |
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| is bias in mobilization true or supported by evidence? |
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hasn't been empirically proven that for-profit states mobilize more easily than non-profit organizations
- ratio of for profit v. non-profit organizations across states isn't the same |
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entrepreneurs play a key role in managing an organizations niche (resources)
- entrepreneur focuses on invests benefits and creates membership package with incentives for members
- successfulness of interest group is dependent on the entrepreneurs resourcefulness and the successfulness of the exchange |
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Organizer who determines what benefits the group will receive and at what cost
- Figures out how to design group goals to maintain relevance
- usually has $, resources, time to invest in group |
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| maintenance activities group entrepreneurs engage in |
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Definition
- maintain unique niche of resources
- keep members (find incentives, etc.)
- grow new members
- keep financing going (get continual donors and acquire new ones, seek out federal funds) |
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| problems with expressive benefits |
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| because they are based on psychological feelings of involvement, making a difference, etc., if another group comes around that better suits your perspective or changing feelings at the time, you may leave your current group for another |
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| principal-agent relationship |
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Definition
when an agent acts on behalf of the principle, represents an issue and carries out decisions principal wants them to (lobbying in case of interest groups)
- in principal agent problem, agent acts according to own self interest and not in the interest of of the principal
- much of an agents work is done behind closed doors |
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| benefits entrepreneurs get from interest groups |
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power and prestige
get the opportunity to call something their own
obtain a good job, good pay, an opportunity to determine group agenda
can pursue personal interests |
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occurs in interest group when people's preferences differ from the decisions being made by the interest group board/ entrepreneur
- can cause members to leave, go elsewhere
- catering to the median voter can lead to losing extreme support on either end of the spectrum |
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- cost of organization is high - takes a lot of effort
- free riding is an issue in big and small groups, so there's no point in joining
- material benefits are the focus of members |
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- organizing is natural/ humans are social beings
- we seek balance/ equilibrium and groups help us achieve that
- overcoming the free rider problem is easier than we initially thought |
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- survival of a group depends on the density of groups (concentration of groups in particular areas)
- greater the density of groups, the more deaths
- U shaped relationship between density and morality
- more deaths occur when density is at utmost point |
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- looks at how entrepreneurs get capital
- actually takes very little capital to start an interest group
- group formation is determined by how other interest groups have successfully obtained support
- disturbances + patron interest + affected middle class = emergence of interest group
- individuals drive interest groups |
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- examines entrepreneurs - claims benefits between entrepreneurs and members should be equal
- associations are products of different sets of values and interests
- interest groups and the emergence of different ones will continue
- process of development of values = development of interest groups |
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| Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America |
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Definition
- people align themselves with political associations because they are wary of the world around them – gives them confidence and trust
- people form groups due to intellectual similarities
- unrestrained political association has not been disastrous in the US as it has been in other countries
- groups can undermine democratic processes – has been an issue since creation of the U.S. |
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| Federalist Papers by James Madison |
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- People will always have different ideas/ interests and create factions, but the effects of these factions can be controlled
- groups with different interests is a danger to a new country because it could undermine authority of central government (violence)
- majority v. minority - with a larger constituency, you will need to weed out extremists ideas so appeal to the masses
- factions are dangerous but manageable according to James Madison
- government is much more easily manageable w/ a majority
- factions can taint a particular state, but usually not the entire nation |
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