Political Science An IntroductionFourteenth EditionChapter .docx

Political Science: An Introduction
Fourteenth Edition
Chapter 9
Interest Groups
Roskin | Cord | Medeiros | Jones
Copyright © 2017, 2014, 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All
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A series of U.S. Supreme Court decisions boosted interest
groups to new—some said dangerous—heights. Dubbed "super-
PACs," the new groups allowed super rich anonymous donors to
pour unlimited funds into political campaigns. Billionaires
contributed millions to candidates and groups that supported

their financial and ideological interests through these super-
PACs. Campaign contributions and spending soared, but the
overall net effect on election outcomes was unclear.
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Learning Objectives (1 of 2)
9.1 Define interest groups and distinguish them from parties.
9.2 Explain the relationship between interest groups and
democracy.
9.3 List, with examples, the factors that make interest groups
effective.
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Learning Objectives (2 of 2)
9.4 Explain the several strategies interest groups use.
9.5 Explain and give examples of how interest groups may
become too strong.
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The Ubiquity of Interest Groups (1 of 3)
Interest groups provide a critical link between citizens and
government.
In general an individual has little influence over policy
outcomes and government.
When individuals form a group, they can have a great deal of
influence.

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Because everyone wants something from government, interest
groups exist in all types of societies.
Even dictatorships have interest groups, although they may
behave in ways that are very different from how they behave in
open societies.
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When we talk about interest groups, we generally mean any
group that is trying to influence government.
This is an important point, because Americans frequently use
the term "special interest" to refer to groups they do not like
that are trying to influence government, but in practice we are
all special interests.

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Interest Groups and Political Parties
(1 of 3)
Interest groups differ from political parties in several ways.
Interest groups seek to influence policy but do not seek to
control government, which means that most of their actions
occur outside of the electoral process.
They are not accountable to either citizens in general or the
government.
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(2 of 3)
Interest groups differ from political parties in several ways.
They have a stake in outcomes but do not seek to run candidates
under a party label.
They do seek to influence elections by contributing money to
campaigns, often to both sides in an effort to guarantee access.
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(3 of 3)
Interest groups are rarely represented in the structure of
government.
There are no limits on the number of interest groups (the right
of association) and there are over 20,000 interest groups in
Washington, DC.
Interest group membership tends to be very narrow.
Some states foster the development of interest groups in
society.
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Who Belongs to Interest Groups? (1 of 3)
Having interests is part of human nature and the great diversity
of interests that exist in society lends itself naturally to group
formation.
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Pluralist theories of interest groups suggest that a host of

interest groups compete with each other for access to
government.
As a consequence, no single group is able to dominate politics.
Policy outcomes are the result of this competition of interests.
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Pluralism is good in theory, but in practice the playing field is
not level among interest groups.
Wealthy people who tend to be better educated and have much
higher levels of political competency are far more likely to
organize to advocate for their interests.
The poor in society lack those organizing skills and are often
cut out of the political process.
This can lead to outbursts of political violence, such as the
storming of the Bastille prior to the French Revolution.
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Interest Groups and Government (1 of 3)
democracy.
For interest group activity to be beneficial, there must be a state

worth influencing.
Weak states, where crime has interpenetrated politics, have
groups that try to influence government, but that influence
group activity is not necessarily beneficial.
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corporatism: The direct participation of interest groups in
government.
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democracy.
As government grows, interest groups proliferate.
The funding of programs creates constituencies that want to see
the programs continue.
Reagan tried to defund the Department of Education but was
unsuccessful due to heavy interest group resistance.
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government.
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democracy.
Interest groups can on occasion participate in government.

When interest groups take over some of the functions of
government, it is known as corporatism.
The Swedish Royal Commissions are an example of this.
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government.
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Government-Created Interest Groups
Not all interest groups are independent; some are created by the
actions of government.
Government creates programs to serve the needs of citizens.
Those programs develop interest constituencies that form
groups to advocate for the program.
The groups then lobby Congress.
Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae are good examples of this, as are
U.S. farm subsidies.
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Bureaucrats as an Interest Group
Bureaucrats themselves can act as interest groups.
They do this through their input in the making and
implementation of laws.
Japan's ministries are extremely powerful.
Bureaucracies can develop their own interests, especially with
respect to seeing their agencies continue and their budgets
expand.

Interest groups can be offshoots of government as a result.
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METI: Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry;
formerly MITI, Ministry of International Trade and Industry.
Diet: Japan's national legislature.
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Effective Interest Groups
9.3 List, with examples, the factors that make interest groups
effective.
Political culture
The rise of big money
The rise of single-issue groups
Size and membership
Access
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Political Culture
A country's political culture affects the likelihood of the
development of interest groups.
Interest groups flourish in open societies with little state control
over group formation.
Americans and Britons are more likely to join associations than
people in countries.

There have been some worries about the decline of associational
life in the United States.
In societies that have a tradition of people joining groups,
citizens tend to have higher levels of political efficacy.
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efficacy: The feeling that what one does can make a difference.
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The Rise of Big Money (1 of 5)
Money is probably the single most important factor in
determining the success of an interest group.
This is especially important during elections.
The importance of money in elections has led to worries that
politics is basically becoming the best government that money
can buy.
Some countries have tried various reforms, including: limiting
campaign spending, subsidizing political parties, and public
funding of elections.
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public financing: Using tax dollars to fund something, such as
election-campaign expenses.
unforeseen consequence: Bad or counterproductive result when
laws or policies do not work as expected
political action committee (PAC): U.S. interest group set up
specifically to contribute money to election campaigns.
soft money: Campaign contributions to parties and issue groups

so as to skirt federal limits on contributions to candidates.
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The United States has been very resistant to public financing of
campaigns.
This is primarily due to the speech issues that arise with respect
to the First Amendment to the Constitution.
An accompanying problem is the cost of elections in the United
States.
Consequently, political leaders in the United States have been
unable to agree on a formula for controlling money in politics.
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A relatively new development has been the rise of PACs
(political action committees) and Super PACs.
These groups, because of tax laws, are able to donate soft

money, money not regulated by the FEC, to groups not working
directly with a candidate.
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McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Reform Act
Bipartisan attempt to regulate campaign spending in the United
States.
It was challenged in the Courts and was found to be
constitutional, but subsequent rulings by the Court had rendered
the act essentially irrelevant by 2004.
Super PACs spend millions of dollars on independent ads that
denounce opponents.
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The larger question is whether or not money is out of control in
politics.
Pluralists argue that in the end, the amount of money has no real
affect on politics because the interest groups are in constant
competition with each other and no single group is able to
dominate politics.
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The Rise of Single-Issue Groups
The 1970s saw the rise of single-issue interest groups, which
are groups that care only about a single issue.
Issue intensity is extremely important with respect to interest
groups as groups that care most intensely about an issue are
more committed and gain the attention of politicians and

decision makers.
Most single-issue groups are focused on moral issues, for
example abortion, which makes compromise on politics very
difficult.
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single-issue group: Interest association devoted to one cause
only.
AFL-CIO: American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial
Organizations, the largest U.S. union federation.
NAM: National Association of Manufacturers, a major
federation of U.S. industrial executives.
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Size and Membership
The size of a group does matter when it comes to being
effective in the interest group game, and large groups such as
the AARP have a lot of clout.
Size isn't the only thing and group size can be countered by
other resources, especially money.
Disadvantaged groups are often some of the largest groups in
American politics but lack the time, money, and organizational
skills to form an interest group and as such often have the least
influence.
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socioeconomic status: Combination of income and prestige
criteria in the ranking of groups.

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Access
All groups in the system want access to decision makers in
order to influence policy outcomes.
Much of the money contributed to campaigns is not about
results but rather about gaining access.
Structured access, an idea advanced by LaPalombara, occurs
when groups have long-term friendly relationships with policy
makers.
This greatly improves their chances of success in achieving
their goals.
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structured access: Long-term friendly connection of interest
group to officials.
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This graphic discusses the decline of American labor unions.
Membership in labor unions has declined since the 1950s by
two-thirds.

School teachers and public service employees are more
organized than factory workers.
Business has far more clout than organized labor in the United
States.
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This graphic discusses the use of tables in political science.
Tables are lists of things that you are studying.
They are used to organize variables and measures.
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Interest Group Strategies
9.4 Explain the several strategies interest groups use.
Approaching lawmakers
Approaching the administration
Approaching the judiciary
Appeals to the public
Demonstrations
Violent protest
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Approaching Lawmakers (1 of 2)
Most of the time when we think about interest groups, we think
about them trying to influence legislators to pass (or not pass) a
law.
Approaching lawmakers is the traditional interest group
strategy.
Many are convinced that lobbyists buy Congress and get
whatever they want.
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lobbying: Interest-group efforts to sway legislation.
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Approaching Lawmakers (2 of 2)
Approaching lawmakers is the traditional interest group
strategy.
When a major interest is threatened by new laws or proposed
changes in laws, they will spare no expense to work to prevent
it from happening.
They are usually successful in their efforts.
Money buys access to lawmakers, increasing the effectiveness
of well-funded groups to advocate for their interests.
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lobbying: Interest-group efforts to sway legislation.
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Approaching the Administration
Sometimes it is in a group's interest to approach and lobby the
administration rather than Congress.
This occurs when groups don't necessarily want a new law but
rather just a favorable interpretation of an existing law or
regulation.
They use many of the same tactics that they would use on
legislators in this process.
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Approaching the Judiciary (1 of 3)
The courts are not immune from the influence of interest
groups, and some groups have relied heavily on the courts to
achieve their goals.
Interest groups can file class-action lawsuits, which are legal
actions on behalf of a group or class of citizens, to try to force
the courts to take action to correct a wrongdoing.
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class action: Lawsuit on behalf of many persons acting together.
amicus curiae: Statement to a court by persons not party to a
case.
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Interest groups can also file amicus curiae briefs, which are also
called friend of the court briefs. Amicus briefs allow the
interest groups to submit to the court for consideration legal
arguments on cases that affect their interests.
For example, the NRA filed amicus briefs in the Heller case.
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case.
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The NAACP used the courts to fight for changes to laws that
promoted discrimination.
Many believe now that money buys results in traditional
lobbying.
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case.
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Appeals to the Public (1 of 2)
Sometimes groups do not go to decision makers but rather go
public with their causes and arguments.

This is an additional tool for many well-funded groups that can
play the inside game as well, and they will run effective media
campaigns in an attempt to convince the public they are good
interests or are working in the public interest.
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Appeals to the Public (2 of 2)
A good example of this is recent ads run by BP after the
Deepwater Horizon explosion.
The efforts of the tobacco industry are also illustrative.
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Demonstrations
Some groups do not have the resources to fund a media
campaign, but they can still take their cases to the public.
Public demonstrations are one way they can do this.
The nonviolent protests led by Gandhi and MLK Jr. are both
examples of how public demonstrations can raise the awareness
of the general citizenry to an issue and increase the chances that
decision makers will change policies.

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Violent Protest
When groups lose faith in the system, peaceful demonstrations
can move to violent protests.
This strategy can work on certain occasions.
For example, much of the Great Society Legislation was passed
during a period of urban riots in the United States.
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Interest Groups: An Evaluation (1 of 3)
become too strong.
Interest group activity is at the core of democracy, but it is
important to think about how well interest groups serve the
public.
There are several ways in which an interest group might fail to
serve the interests of the public.
There is bias in the system and some groups, especially small
groups, do not have any input into the process.

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become too strong.
Some people, the poor for example, cannot organize into groups
because they lack the time, money, and political competency to
do so. This means that their interests are not represented in the
system and politicians can ignore those interests.
Common Cause was founded as a citizens' public interest group.
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become too strong.
Some groups may be led by a highly militant and radical
leadership that has views that vary considerably with what
members actually want.
This can lead to a split between leadership and membership
within the group.

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Skewing Policy (1 of 2)
Interest groups can skew policy in their favor regardless of
which party is in power.
This occurs because groups often donate money to both main
political parties in the hopes of assuring access to decision
makers regardless of who wins the election.
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subprime: Risky mortgage made to unqualified borrower.
scandal: Corruption made public.
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Skewing Policy (2 of 2)
Even a political party that might favor the interest of the poor is
going to be more likely to pass legislation favoring the wealthy
due to that interest group's influence.
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subprime: Risky mortgage made to unqualified borrower.
scandal: Corruption made public.
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Stalemating Political Power
Interest groups can also contribute to a stalemating of political
power because leaders may be beholden to so many groups that
they will be reluctant to act on any controversial issue out of
fear of alienating multiple powerful interest groups.
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