CONCEPT OF ASSOCIATIONAL PRESSURE GROUP

Introduction

A pressure group may be defined as any group of people bound together by some
common interests or profession who engage in some activities to influence government
policies to their own advantage. They sometimes direct their attention to private
organisations whose activities have a far-reaching effect on the people. Unlike political
parties, pressure groups are not interested in direct governance or in contesting elections.
They may however support particular candidates or parties they regard as supportive of
their cause. The Nigerian Bar Association, Nigerian Union of Teachers, and Market
Women Associations are examples of pressure groups in Nigeria. Associational pressure
group also known as special interest groups, use various forms of advocacy in order to
influence public opinion and ultimately policy. They play an important role in the
development of political and social systems. Motives for action may be based on
political, religious, moral, or commercial positions. Groups use varied methods to try to
achieve their aims, including lobbying, media campaigns, publicity stunts, polls, research,
and policy briefings. Some groups are supported or backed by powerful business or
political interests and exert considerable influence on the political process, while others
have few or no such resources.

Some have developed into important social, political institutions or social movements.
Some powerful associational pressure group have been accused of manipulating the
democratic system for narrow commercial gain and in some instances have been found
guilty of corruption, fraud, bribery, and other serious crimes; Some groups, generally
ones with less financial resources, may use direct action and civil disobedience and in
some cases are accused of being a threat to the social order or 'domestic extremists'.[4]
Research is beginning to explore how associational pressure group use social media to
facilitate civic engagement and collective action.[5][6]

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Overview

An associational pressure group is a group or an organization which tries to influence the

government but does not hold power in the government.

History

Beginnings

The early growth of pressure groups was connected to broad economic and political
changes in England in the mid-18th century, including political representation, market
capitalization, and proletarianization. The first mass social movement catalyzed around
the controversial political figure, John Wilkes. As editor of the paper The North Briton,
Wilkes vigorously attacked the new administration of Lord Bute and the peace terms that
the new government accepted at the 1763 Treaty of Paris at the end of the Seven Years'
War. Charged with seditious libel, Wilkes was arrested after the issue of a general
warrant, a move that Wilkes denounced as unlawful – the Lord Chief Justice eventually
ruled in Wilkes favour. As a result of this episode, Wilkes became a figurehead to the
growing movement for popular sovereignty among the middle classes – people began
chanting, "Wilkes and Liberty" in the streets.

After a later period of exile, brought about by further charges of libel and obscenity,
Wilkes stood for the Parliamentary seat at Middlesex, where most of his support was
located.[8] When Wilkes was imprisoned in the King's Bench Prison on 10 May 1768, a
mass movement of support emerged, with large demonstrations in the streets under the
slogan "No liberty, no King." Stripped of the right to sit in Parliament, Wilkes became an
Alderman of London in 1769, and an activist group called the Society for the Supporters
of the Bill of Rights began aggressively promoting his policies. [10] This was the first ever
sustained social associational pressure group;—it involved public meetings,
demonstrations, the distribution of pamphlets on an unprecedented scale and the mass
petition march. However, the movement was careful not to cross the line into open
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rebellion;—it tried to rectify the faults in governance through appeals to existing legal
precedents and was conceived of as an extra-Parliamentary form of agitation to arrive at a
consensual and constitutional arrangement. The force and influence of this social
advocacy movement on the streets of London compelled the authorities to concede to the
movement's demands. Wilkes was returned to Parliament, general warrants were declared
as unconstitutional and press freedom was extended to the coverage of Parliamentary
debates.

Another important associational pressure group that emerged in the late 18th century was
the British abolitionist movement against slavery. Starting with an organised sugar
boycott in 1791, it led the second great petition drive of 1806, which brought about the
banning of the slave trade in 1807. In the opinion of Eugene Black (1963), "...association
made possible the extension of the politically effective public. Modern extra
parliamentary political organization is a product of the late eighteenth century [and] the
history of the age of reform cannot be written without it.

Growth and spread of associational pressure group

From 1815, Britain after victory in the Napoleonic Wars entered a period of social
upheaval characterised by the growing maturity of the use of social movements and
special-interest associations. Chartism was the first mass movement of the growing
working-class in the world. It campaigned for political reform between 1838 and 1848
with the People's Charter of 1838 as its manifesto – this called for universal suffrage and
the implementation of the secret ballot, amongst other things. The term "social
movements" was introduced in 1848 by the German Sociologist Lorenz von Stein in his
book Socialist and Communist Movements since the Third French Revolution (1848) in
which he introduced the term "social movement" into scholarly discussions [14] – actually
depicting in this way political movements fighting for the social rights understood as
welfare rights.

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The labor movement and socialist movement of the late 19th century are seen as the
prototypical social movements, leading to the formation of communist and social
democratic parties and organisations. These tendencies were seen in poorer countries as
pressure for reform continued, for example in Russia with the Russian Revolution of
1905 and of 1917, resulting in the collapse of the Czarist regime around the end of the
First World War.

In the post-war period, women's rights, gay rights, peace, civil rights, anti-nuclear and
environmental movements emerged, often dubbed the New Social Movements,[15] some
of which may be considered "general interest groups" as opposed to special interest
groups. They led, among other things, to the formation of green parties and organisations
influenced by the new left. Some find in the end of the 1990s the emergence of a new
global social movement, the anti-globalization movement. Some social movement
scholars posit that with the rapid pace of globalization, the potential for the emergence of
new type of social movement is latent—they make the analogy to national movements of
the past to describe what has been termed a global citizens movement.

Activities of the associational pressure group

Associational pressure group exist in a wide variety of genres based upon their most
pronounced activities.

 Anti-defamation organizations issue responses or criticisms to real or supposed

slights of any sort (including speech or violence) by an individual or group against
a specific segment of the population which the organization exists to represent.
 Watchdog groups exist to provide oversight and rating of actions or media by
various outlets, both government and corporate. They may also index
personalities, organizations, products, and activities in databases to provide
coverage and rating of the value or viability of such entities to target
demographics.

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  Lobby groups lobby for a change to the law or the maintenance of a particular law
and big businesses fund very considerable lobbying influence on legislators, for
example in the USA and in the UK where lobbying first developed. Some Lobby
groups have considerable financial resources at their disposal. Lobbying is
regulated to stop the worst abuses which can develop into corruption. In the
United States the Internal Revenue Service makes a clear distinction between
lobbying and advocacy.[16]
 Lobby groups spend considerable amounts of money on election advertising as
well. For example, the 2011 documentary film Hot Coffee contains interviews of
former Mississippi Supreme Court Justice Oliver E. Diaz, Jr. and evidence the US
Chamber of Commerce paid for advertising to unseat him.
 Legal defense funds provide funding for the legal defense for, or legal action
against, individuals or groups related to their specific interests or target
demographic. This is often accompanied by one of the above types of associational
pressure group filing an amicus curiae if the cause at stake serves the interests of
both the legal defense fund and the other associational pressure group.
 Astroturfing groups mask the sponsors of a message or organization (e.g.,
political, advertising, religious or public relations) to make it appear as though it
originates from and is supported by grassroots participants. It is a practice intended
to give the statements or organizations credibility by withholding information
about the source's financial connection.

Influence of associational pressure group

In most liberal democracies, associational pressure group tend to use the bureaucracy as
the main channel of influence – because, in liberal democracies, this is where the
decision-making power lies. The aim of associational pressure group here is to attempt to
influence a member of the legislature to support their cause by voting a certain way in the
legislature. Access to this channel is generally restricted to groups with insider status

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such as large corporations and trade unions – groups with outsider status are unlikely to
be able to meet with ministers or other members of the bureaucracy to discuss policy.
What must be understood about groups exerting influence in the bureaucracy is; "the
crucial relationship here [in the bureaucracy] is usually that between the senior
bureaucrats and leading business or industrial interests". [17] This supports the view that
groups with greater financial resources at their disposal will generally be better able to
influence the decision-making process of government. The advantages that large
businesses have is mainly due to the fact that they are key producers within their
countries economy and, therefore, their interests are important to the government as their
contributions are important to the economy. According to George Monbiot, the influence
of big business has been strengthened by "the greater ease with which corporations can
relocate production and investment in a global economy". This suggests that in the ever
modernising world, big business has an increasing role in influencing the bureaucracy
and in turn, the decision-making process of government.

Associational pressure group can also exert influence through the assembly by lobbying.
Groups with greater economic resources at their disposal can employ professional
lobbyists to try and exert influence in the assembly. An example of such a group is the
environmentalist group Greenpeace; Greenpeace (an organisation with income upward of
$50,000,000) use lobbying to gain political support for their campaigns. They raise issues
about the environment with the aim of having their issues translated into policy such as
the government encouraging alternative energy and recycling.

The judicial branch of government can also be used by associational pressure group to
exert influence. In states where legislation cannot be challenged by the courts, like the
UK, associational pressure group are limited in the amount of influence they have. In
states that have codified constitutions, like the US, however, associational pressure group
influence is much more significant. For example, – in 1954 the NAACP (National
Association for the Advancement of Colored People) lobbied against the Topeka Board
of education, arguing that segregation of education based on race was unconstitutional.
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As a result of group pressure from the NAACP, the supreme court unanimously ruled that
racial segregation in education was indeed unconstitutional and such practices were
banned. This is a novel example of how associational pressure group can exert influence
in the judicial branch of government.

Associational pressure group can also exert influence on political parties. The main way
groups do this is through campaign finance. For instance; in the UK, the conservative
parties campaigns are often funded by large corporations, as many of the conservative
parties campaigns reflect the interests of businesses. For example, George W. Bush's re-
election campaign in 2004 was the most expensive in American history and was financed
mainly by large corporations and industrial interests that the Bush administration
represented in government. Conversely, left-wing parties are often funded by organised
labour – when the British Labour Party was formed, it was largely funded by trade
unions. Often, political parties are actually formed as a result of group pressure, for
example, the Labour Party in the UK was formed out of the new trade-union movement
which lobbied for the rights of workers.

Associational pressure group also exert influence through channels that are separate from
the government or the political structure such as the mass media and through public
opinion campaigning. Associational pressure group will use methods such as protesting,
petitioning and civil disobedience to attempt to exert influence in Liberal Democracies.
Groups will generally use two distinct styles when attempting to manipulate the media –
they will either put across their outsider status and use their inability to access the other
channels of influence to gain sympathy or they may put across a more ideological
agenda. Traditionally, a prime example of such a group were the trade-unions who were
the so-called "industrial" muscle. Trade-unions would campaign in the forms of industrial
action and marches for workers rights, these gained much media attention and sympathy
for their cause. In the United States, the Civil Rights Movement gained much of its
publicity through civil disobedience; African Americans would simply disobey the racist
segregation laws to get the violent, racist reaction from the police and white Americans.
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This violence and racism was then broadcast all over the world, showing the world just
how one sided the race 'war' in America actually was.

Associational pressure group influence has also manifested itself in supranational bodies
that have arisen through globalisation. Groups that already had a global structure such as
Greenpeace were better able to adapt to globalisation. Greenpeace, for example, has
offices in over 30 countries and has an income of $50 million annually. Groups such as
these have secured the nature of their influence by gaining status as nongovernmental
organisations (NGOs), many of which oversee the work of the UN and the EU from their
permanent offices in America and Europe.

Benefits and incentives of the associational pressure group

Free rider problem

A general theory is that individuals must be enticed with some type of benefit to join an
interest group. However, the free rider problem addresses the difficulty of obtaining
members of a particular interest group when the benefits are already reaped without
membership. For instance, an interest group dedicated to improving farming standards
will fight for the general goal of improving farming for every farmer, even those who are
not members of that particular interest group. Thus, there is no real incentive to join an
interest group and pay dues if the farmer will receive that benefit anyway. For another
example, every individual in the world would benefit from a cleaner environment, but
environmental protection interest groups do not receive monetary help from every
individual in the world. This poses a problem for interest groups, which require dues
from their members and contributions in order to accomplish the groups' agendas.

Selective benefits

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Selective benefits are material, rather than monetary benefits conferred on group
members. For instance, an interest group could give members travel discounts, free meals
at certain restaurants, or free subscriptions to magazines, newspapers, or journals.[42]:133–134
Many trade and professional interest groups tend to give these types of benefits to their
members.

Solidarity incentives

A solidary incentive is a reward for participation that is socially derived and created out
of the act of association. A selective solidary benefit offered to members or prospective
members of an interest group might involve such incentives as "socializing congeniality,
the sense of group membership and identification, the status resulting from membership,
fun, conviviality, the maintenance of social distinctions, and so on.

Expressive incentives

People who join an interest group because of expressive benefits likely joined to express
an ideological or moral value that they believe in, such as free speech, civil rights,
economic justice, or political equality. To obtain these types of benefits, members would
simply pay dues, and donate their time or money to get a feeling of satisfaction from
expressing a political value. Also, it would not matter if the interest group achieved their
goal; these members would merely be able to say they helped out in the process of trying
to obtain their goals, which is the expressive incentive that they got in the first place. The
types of interest groups that rely on expressive benefits or incentives are environmental
groups and groups who claim to be lobbying for the public interest.

References

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Monbiot, George (2009-02-16). "Meet the new Britain: just like the old one where green
protesters are spied on". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on
19 February 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-23.

Obar, Jonathan; et al. (2012). "Advocacy 2.0: An Analysis of How Associational pressure
group in the United States Perceive and Use Social Media as Tools for
Facilitating Civic Engagement and Collective Action". Journal of Information
Policy. SSRN 1956352.

Obar, Jonathan (2014). "Canadian Advocacy 2.0: A Study of Social Media Use by Social
Movement Groups and Activists in Canada". Canadian Journal of
Communication. doi:10.22230/cjc.2014v39n2a2678. SSRN 2254742.

Cash, Arthur (2006). John Wilkes: The Scandalous Father of Civil Liberty. Yale
University Press. pp. 204–226. ISBN 978-0300123630.

Rudbeck, J. (2012). "Popular sovereignty and the historical origin of the social
movement". Theory and Society. 41 (6): 581–601. doi:10.1007/s11186-012-
9180-x. S2CID 143513084.

Black, Eugene Charlton (1963). The Association British Extra Parliamentary Political
Organization, 1769-1793. Harvard University Press. p. 279.

Heywood, Andrew (2007). Politics. London: MacMillan. p. 305.

Monibot, George (2011). The Captive State: The Corporate Take-Over of Britain.
London: Pan.

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