Difference Between Interest Groups And Political Parties

Linkage institutions can be defined as institutions that connect citizens with the government. Examples of linkage institutions include elections, political parties, interest groups, and the media. Elections specifically are supposed to encourage public participation in the selection of governmental officials. Unfortunately, low voter turnout has proved that elections are an imperfect linkage institution. Elections depend on voters to be successful, and some factors that relate to the likelihood of voting include age, education, and race. Although some people underestimate the power of the vote, voter turnout is

Limiting interest group is like cutting off the blood that flows through America’s vein. Interest groups plays a pivotal role in todays U.S society ranging from but not limited to; helping Congress and the administration to draft legislation and policy initiatives, provide information both to government and the public on a broad range of topical issues, and contribute significantly to political

Political parties are critical structures in the modern society and universal phenomena in most democracies. In fact, they form major objects of intensive study as they are usually the centre of political and social power. They engage in most activities that are of significant consequence in the lives of citizens and link the common populace to the government. Therefore, it is important to understand political parties fully from every perspective of political systems so obtain their real importance in democracies. A political party is basically a group of citizens who converge as voters, activists, electoral candidates and office holders with a common party label and seek to elect party members into public offices. While modern political

Political parties are very similar in a sense to interest group because both are “seeking influence over the government” by electing their members to office (Lowi 493). I really don’t think I need to go into detail about this point/quote because it’s rather self-explanatory that for example, the republican party and democratic party of the United States are constantly going at it in terms of which party the next United States president is going to be affiliated with. But not just being the president, but also other members of United States government. Some roles of political parties consist of facilitating collective action in the electoral process, resolving problems of collective choice in government, and to deal with problems of ambition (Lowi 493). Basically, facilitating collective action is a political party’s job to get commitment from the people of the United states to commit to whoever the party’s candidates are and what they stand for. Resolving problems of collective choice is basically all of the party members understanding they have the same common opinions and they need to be open to compromise to make everyone within the party happy

Public interest lobbies form a linkage element between citizens and governmental elites. In lobbying they articulate what they perceive to be the issue positions of certain sectors of society. Public interest groups also play an important role in facilitating the political participation of their members and related attentive publics. By helping to bring new issues to the table, interest groups influence the shape of political agendas.

Linkage institutions abide by issues citizens are concerned about. Linkage institutions are parties, elections, media, and interest groups in which people participate and express their preferences to policymakers. An example of how the linkage institution works is the media. The media informs the people of occurring news and “ if it bleeds it leads” meaning if the news involves violence it will get many viewers and ratings. An example if this form of news is

How do political parties and interest groups compare and contrast with each other. How do each of these impact the United States? Both are good questions and will be explored though the vessel which is this paper. Come, take a journey to the past and work back to the future and discover for yourself. No DeLorean needed.

Interest groups are considered fundamental actors in American politics and evidence on interest groups repels the argument that elected officials let interest

However, political parties select candidates for the position of president. Parties also present policy alternatives for voters and some voters even choose candidates from the same party for all positions in that election. A party that doesn’t hold the majority in Congress often keeps the party in power from taking complete control. Party leaders can also criticize actions of the President that was voted by the opposite party. They take control on issues and discuss the points of view of others parties, which is important because they can then inform the public about the issues and how to solve them. Representatives usually support their party’s decisions when considering laws and policies. Interest groups consists of organizations that pressure elected officials to enact legislation favorable to its causes. The most common type of interest group is formed around businesses, corporations, and trade associations and part of their reputation for power is based on the fact that they represent about half of all interest groups. Interest groups are actively involved in the political campaigns, electioneering is intended to help others elect candidates who favor their position or defeat those of the opposite

It would only make sense that half of this class is on political parties and the other half would be about interest groups. They are both inherently different and fundamentally similar at the same time. Both work to sway the pendulum of public policy in the direction they believe in (Alexander, 2015). The main difference is that political parties attempt to gain political office, where interest groups are not in that business. Interest groups are in a sense a key part of a pluralistic society. They allow for everyday people to lobby and petition government. While it is true that we have interest groups in existence today, it has not always been that way. Up until the 1960’s, the power of politics was in the hands of the parties (Cigler, 2015). Many factors, such as television, a more educated electorate, etc, contributed to the creation of a power vacuum in the 1960’s. Interest groups swiftly and aggressively took the role that had formerly been that of the parties. As we have seen this power shift, so have we seen an explosion in the number of organized interests. In 1900, there were 200 registered groups in Washington D.C. Today there are 15,000. It is reasonable to be both intrigued and horrified by the concept of these groups. On one side, they are like anybody else who cares about the direction of the country. On the other, they are unelected, unrepresentative impactors of the system I must live in. While I am not trying to say they are a god send or evil, my point is

It is true that today in America, there exist four types of groups, known as “linkage” institutions that without them, a democracy would be very difficult to keep up. These institutions play a significant and important role in connecting citizens to the government, but they are not officially a part of it. These groups are the following: the political parties, which represent points of view to how the government should be run. The campaigns and elections, which remind the citizens of their greatest power– the vote. The interest groups, which organize people with common interest and attitudes to influence government to support their points of view, and the media, which play an important role in connecting people to government.

Voting is one of the great rights that every American citizen is entitled to. It gives Americans the chance to voice their pleasure, or displeasure, with those who represent them in public office by selecting who they believe best represents their values and beliefs. But who organizes the candidates? What are they affiliated with? The answer is political parties. A political party is an organization of people who share the same views about the way power should be used in a country or a society . It is typically accepted that political parties in america serve four functions. The first being that they selected candidates who best represent them to run for office. The second is they mobilize voters and convince these voters to vote for their selected candidates. Third, they facilitate governance by bringing some sort of order to the process of lawmaking. And finally fourth, they monitor the opposing party whenever they are in power. (Shmoop, “Role of Political Parties”) In america 's fine democracy, there are two major political parties that represent two ends of the political spectrum, The Democrats and The Republicans. The typical american voter can be starch supporter of one, or fall somewhere in between. Although the Democratic party and the Republican party have competing values, they share more in common than most people think and are a pivotal pillar of American Democracy.

So some may wonder, well what is a political party in the first place and why does it matter which one to join? Well according to “We The People”, an American politics book written by Benjamin Ginsberg, Theodore J. Lowi, Margaret Weir, Caroline J. Tolbert, and Robert J. Spitzer, their definition of a political party states, “Political parties, like interest groups, are organized groups that attempt to influence the government by electing their members to government offices.”(Ginsberg, 201). The reason these organized groups we call political parties want their members in government offices, is so that they can dominate whatever decision needs to be made in Government. Interest groups are similar,

There are four kinds of significant “political actors”, “Political Party,” “Social Movement,” “Interest Group,” and “Group Organization,” which citizens in the United States can join and support in order to influence politics and government. These four important “political actors” have a long history and their ability to influence the politics and government can not be underestimated.

legislation from being passed. In addition, politicians from both the Democratic Party and the Republican Party are supported by interest groups. In fact, the major parties are so heavily influenced and affected by factions that they play a key role in whether or not legislation is passed or rejected. This dilemma has never been more relevant than it is today. As lobbying has grown in recent years, concern has mounted over the consequences of interest group politics. Interest groups are said to threaten the integrity of congressional elections. Problematically, the structure of the American government has not, by itself, prevented some interests from gaining a great advantage at the expense of others. Those with large resources have always