Why Might Different Pressure Groups Use Different Methods in Their Attempts to Influence the Government

Collective action problems arise in politics because as individuals we are conflicted between our own interest and the interest of the group. Our choice is either to be selfish or cooperate with the group. “It involves building, combining, mixing, and amalgamating people’s individual goals” (Lowi, et al. 13). There are three main theories as to why collective action problems exist. First, according to Mancur Olson individuals are tempted to free-ride which is getting a benefit without contributing to it and that no individual is incentivized to work for the collective good. (Lowi, et al 571). Free-riding becomes a bigger issues as a group gets larger. Second, the Prisoner’s Dilemma is a theory in which there are two individuals in a situation were neither has an incentive to cooperate although both would be better off if they did cooperate. Third, the tragedy of commons occurs when individuals’ use of a resource causes its depletion however it’s supposed to be shared by everyone. Collective action problems are difficult to solve because a group is formed to achieve common goals however as individuals we have different objectives and preferences. This is most evident in politics. My goal in this paper is to provide three different solutions to collective action problems in politics specifically in political parties, electoral process and interest groups.

Indirect techniques used by interest groups include strategies that use the general public or individuals to influence the government for the interest group.

The United States has experienced fundamental changes that are dramatically detrimental to democracy. Voters’ ability to define political discourse has been so diminished that even decisive election results like Barack Obama’s in 2012 have little impact. That’s because powerful interests — freed to, in effect, buy elections, unhindered by downsized and diffused media that must rely on revenue from campaign ads — now set the rules of engagement. Lobbying involves working to bring pressure to bear on policy makers to gain favorable policy outcomes. In order to accomplish their goals, interest groups develop a strategy or plan of action and execute it through specific tactics. The particular strategies developed and the specific tactics used, however, vary widely both among and within political

Social movements are one of the primary means through which the public is able to collectively express their concerns about the rights and wellbeing of themselves and others. Under the proper conditions, social movements not only shed light on issues and open large scale public discourse, but they can also serve as a means of eliciting expedited societal change and progress. Due to their potential impact, studying the characteristics of both failed and successful social movements is important in order to ensure that issues between the public and the government are resolved to limit injustices and maintain societal progress.

In order to effect this change, activists should conduct campaigns and rallies with the objective of engaging the public and drawing followers to their cause. The more followers that a cause gains, the more power it can utilize to get those people who hold positions of responsibility to conform to their desires. An example of this was near the beginning of this year when policymakers tried to subtly push a new cyber securities bill; known as CISPA, that was found to be very invasive and detrimental to the American

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.

For many years, deferent social organization groups and activist have used different tactics to resolves different issues such as race. These claimants have dependent on tactics such as marchers, protests, sit-ins and even gone to extreme lengths in order to change and create policies. A policy is meant to address to address a particular troubling condition; however, there are many critiques of policies. A policy can be critiqued for being insufficient because it does not quite go far enough to actually resolve the issue. Secondly, a policy can be critiqued for to excessive by going too far, which could make the current situation worse or even potentially resulting for a new problem. Thirdly, policy are often criticized for being misguided

These are organisations or individuals with strong views that may influence the decisions of businesses and the government.

So what characterises the force of an interest group? Let us examine quantity and quality. It is not so much the number of members that makes an interest group influential, like many generally accepted ideas, but more the quality of those members. To be influential, the members must be combative, certainly rich, and must definitely occupy key offices in society. But the best interest groups should have lot of members, as well as having rich and very active members.

Moreover, different tactics are used by pressure groups, which can add to the success of the group as a whole. Paid political consultants offer to act as intermediaries between pressure groups and parliament. Lobbyists have three main functions. Firstly, to provide groups with political information and secondly to bring groups into contact with MPs or officials and vice versa. Thirdly, to persuade MPs or officials to back a particular issue or cause. For example, The ‘Snowdrop Campaign’ in 1996 used lobbying as a tactic to gain support for their ideas. This seemed to be effective, as there was a resulting gun amnesty, where 160,000 guns were handed in. Each pressure group is reliant on the public’s opinion. If the public opinion is good toward a particular issue or group, many MP’s are inclined to listen to the group with public support. For example, equal pay for women. Therefore, public opinion is one of the most important factors in why some pressure groups are more successful than others, Also, if the public widely agree with the cause of a pressure group, the bigger the possible demonstration may be.

The multigovernmental nature of the European Union and the national governments of its member states also helps to decrease the democratic deficit, not only on a supranational level, but on a national level as well (Eising 2011). Because there is a division of powers and sovereignty between these two levels of governance, citizens have the capacity, through interest group activity, to represent their interests to two different legislative bodies that could pursue legislation in their favour (Kohler-Koch 1997; Eising 2011). Similarly, due to the relatively nascent state of European Union interest group activity, many groups with similar interests are combining and coordinating efforts in order to have a bigger influence over policy decisions (Greenwood 2003, Eising 2011). Because of this unique phenomenon, smaller groups may work in tandem with

“As they fathom injustice, organize to protest, craft a tactics, and engage in action, these bodies read what is happening and articulate their imaginative rebuttal. In so doing they demonstrate to themselves and all those watching that something can be done. Could this be why they are called political ‘movements’?”

Oftentimes, protest movements gain momentum after a widespread event occurs that makes the public gain awareness of a certain topic. The idea that protest movements don’t just suddenly occur but are the result of years of planning

The growth of democracy in Britain was due to the role of Pressure groups to a certain extent.

The Influence of Pressure Groups on the Government This essay will outline the significance to which pressure groups have an influence on government and explain how they have fared under New Labour governments. Whilst the term ‘pressure groups’ may be relatively new, the concept itself dates back as far as 1787. The Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade was led by William Wilberforce and Thomas Clarkson and successfully campaigned for the abolition of the slave trade.