CHAPTER 11

GROUPS, INTERESTS
AND MOVEMENTS

POL101
 Interest groups
• An interest or pressure group is an organized
association that aims to influence the policies or
actions of government.
• Differences between interest groups:
• Sectional v associational: Sectional groups
advance the interests of their members, while
promotional ones are concerned with shared
values, ideals or principles.
• Insider v outsider: Whereas insider groups enjoy
privileged access to policy formulation, outsider
groups lack access to government and so are
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forced to ‘go public’.
 Models of group politics

• Group politics has been understood in a

variety of ways.
• Pluralism emphasizes the dispersal of
power and the ability of groups to
guarantee democratic accountability.
• Corporatism highlights the privileged
position that certain groups enjoy in relation
to government.
• The New Right draws attention to the threat
that groups pose in terms of over-
government and economic inefficiency.
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 How do groups exert influence?

• Groups have a broad range of tactics and

political strategies at their disposal
• Activity tends to focus on the bureaucracy as the
key institution in the process of policy
formulation. Other points of access include:
• the bureaucracy
• the assembly
• the courts
• political parties
• the mass media
• international organizations 4
 Factors affecting the general
importance of groups
• The political culture
• The institutional structure
• The nature of the party system
• The nature and style of public policy

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 Why are some groups more
influential than others?
• Level of public sympathy for the group and
its goals
• Size of membership and activist base
• Financial strength and organizational
capability
• Ability to disrupt or inconvenience
government
• Institutional links to parties or government
bodies 6
 Social movements

• A social movement is a collective body in

which there is a high level of commitment and
political activism not necessarily based on a
formal organization.
• New social movements are distinguished by:
• Their capacity to attract the young, better-
educated and relatively affluent
• Their generally postmaterial orientation
• Their commitment to new forms of political
activism, sometimes called the ‘new politics’.
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Terms

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Terms

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Terms

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Terms

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