Interest Group

A group of people with shared interests that tries to influence government policy without running its own candidates for office.

Interest Group vs. Political Party

A political party runs candidates and tries to control government; an interest group tries to influence whoever is in office.

Political Influence

The ability of a person or group to affect government decisions, policies, or political outcomes.

Lobbying

Direct communication with legislators, legislative staff, or government officials in an attempt to influence policy.

Lobbyist

A person who represents an interest group or organization and communicates with government officials to influence policy.

Access

The ability of an interest group to communicate directly and frequently with important government officials.

Expertise

Specialized knowledge that interest groups can provide to legislators and agencies; expertise can help groups gain access and influence.

Educating Voters and Officeholders

Interest groups provide information, research, and arguments to citizens and government officials to influence their understanding of an issue.

Drafting Legislation

Interest groups may help write proposed laws or provide legislative language to lawmakers.

Mobilizing Membership

Encouraging members of an interest group to contact representatives, vote, donate, attend events, or otherwise participate politically.

Grassroots Lobbying

Mobilizing ordinary citizens or group members to contact government officials and pressure them on an issue.

Amicus Curiae Brief

A 'friend of the court' brief filed by an outside person or organization that provides information or arguments to a court considering a case.

Iron Triangle

A long-lasting relationship among a congressional committee, a bureaucratic agency, and an interest group that benefits all three participants.

Three Parts of an Iron Triangle

Congressional committee, bureaucratic agency, and interest group.

Congressional Committee's Benefit in an Iron Triangle

Receives information, expertise, and political support.

Bureaucratic Agency's Benefit in an Iron Triangle

Receives congressional support, funding, and political protection.

Interest Group's Benefit in an Iron Triangle

Gains access and policies favorable to the group's interests.

Issue Network

A loose and changing collection of interest groups, government agencies, congressional committees, experts, think tanks, researchers, and media focused on a particular policy issue.

Iron Triangle vs. Issue Network

An iron triangle has three relatively fixed and durable participants; an issue network is larger, more fluid, and changes depending on the issue.

Interest Group Resources

The membership, money, expertise, organization, and access a group can use to influence government.

Mobilizable Membership

A large group of members who can be encouraged to contact officials, vote, donate, or participate politically.

Financial Resources

Money that allows an interest group to hire staff, conduct research, advertise, lobby, and maintain a long-term political presence.

Direct and Frequent Access

Regular contact with important policymakers, which can increase an interest group's opportunity to influence decisions.

Free Rider Problem

The problem in which people benefit from an interest group's success without joining or contributing to the group.

Public Good

A benefit that people can receive even if they did not help pay for or produce it, which contributes to the free rider problem.

Selective Benefits

Goods or services available only to members of an organization, used to encourage people to join and contribute.

Concentrated Interests

Interests where a relatively small number of people or organizations each have a large stake in an issue, making them easier to organize.

Diffuse Interests

Interests spread across a very large number of people who each have a relatively small individual stake, making organization more difficult.

Why Concentrated Interests Organize More Easily

Each participant has more to gain or lose, giving them a stronger incentive to organize and participate.

Collective Action

People working together to achieve a shared political or policy goal.

Collective Action Problem

The difficulty of getting individuals to contribute to a group goal when they can benefit even without participating.

Single-Issue Group

An organization focused primarily on one specific policy area or political issue.

Ideological Group

A group organized around a broad set of political beliefs or principles.

Professional Organization

An organization representing people in a particular profession that can influence government through specialized expertise.

Social Movement

A broad effort by many people or organizations seeking major political, social, or cultural change.

Protest Movement

A movement that uses demonstrations, marches, civil disobedience, or other public actions to draw attention to an issue.

Agenda Setting

The process of bringing an issue to public and governmental attention so policymakers feel pressure to address it.

Salience

The level of importance or attention an issue has among the public or policymakers.

Policy Agenda

The set of issues government officials are actively considering or debating.

Bureaucratic Agency

A government organization responsible for administering laws and programs.

Bureaucratic Discretion

The ability of agencies to make choices about how laws and policies are implemented in practice.

Implementation

The stage of policymaking in which bureaucratic agencies put laws into practice.

Policy Process

The stages through which public policy develops, including agenda setting, drafting, passage, and implementation.

Agenda-Setting Stage

Movements and protests can be especially influential here by forcing attention onto an issue.

Drafting and Negotiating Stage

Interest groups and professional organizations can be especially influential by supplying information, expertise, and legislative language.

Passage Stage

Political parties and legislative coalitions are especially important in gathering the votes needed to pass legislation.

Implementation Stage

Bureaucratic agencies become especially influential because they determine how laws operate in practice.

Pluralism

The theory that many competing groups influence government and prevent any one interest from consistently dominating policymaking.

Elite Theory

The theory that political influence is concentrated among a relatively small number of wealthy, powerful, or highly organized actors.

Pluralism vs. Elite Theory

Pluralism emphasizes competition among many groups; elite theory emphasizes unequal resources and influence among groups.

Linkage Institution

A structure that connects citizens to government, such as political parties, elections, interest groups, and the media.

Interest Groups as Linkage Institutions

Interest groups connect citizens and their concerns to government by organizing political participation and communicating with policymakers.

Political Action Committee (PAC)

An organization that raises and spends money to help elect or defeat political candidates, subject to campaign-finance rules.

Campaign Contributions

Money provided to candidates or political organizations as one method groups may use to support preferred political outcomes.

Electioneering

Activities intended to influence elections, such as spending, advertising, endorsements, and voter mobilization.

Endorsement

A public statement by an interest group supporting a candidate or policy position.

Ratings of Candidates

Interest groups may evaluate elected officials or candidates based on how closely their voting records align with the group's priorities.

Litigation

The use of lawsuits and the court system to pursue policy goals.

Direct Lobbying

Communication directly between interest-group representatives and government officials.

Indirect Lobbying

Attempts to influence officials by mobilizing the public, media, or members rather than communicating only with officials directly.

Revolving Door

The movement of people between government positions and jobs with interest groups, lobbying firms, or industries connected to the policies they previously worked on.

Public Interest Group

An interest group that claims to advocate policies benefiting the public broadly rather than only its own members.

Economic Interest Group

An organization representing economic interests such as businesses, industries, workers, or professions.

Trade Association

An interest group representing businesses or companies within the same industry.

Labor Union

An organization representing workers' interests in areas such as wages, benefits, and working conditions.

Membership Organization

An interest group whose political strength partly comes from having a large number of individual members.

AARP Example

An example used in AP Government of an interest group with a very large membership, mobilization potential, and substantial resources.

Unequal Resources

Interest groups differ in membership size, money, expertise, and access, meaning they do not all have equal political influence.

Access vs. Influence

Getting a meeting with a policymaker is access; actually affecting the policymaker's decision is influence.

Intensity

The strength of people's preferences about an issue; highly motivated minorities may participate more actively than larger groups with weaker preferences.

Interest Groups and Intensity

Interest groups can convert strongly held preferences into political influence through organization, money, communication, and participation.

Benefit of Interest Groups

They allow people with strongly held interests to organize, participate, provide expertise, and communicate with government.

Potential Problem of Interest Groups

Groups with greater money, organization, membership, expertise, or access may gain more influence than less organized interests.

Letter from Birmingham Jail and Interest Groups/Movements

Used in this unit to demonstrate how protest and direct action can create pressure and force an issue onto the political agenda.

Direct Action

Political action designed to create pressure or attention rather than relying only on normal government channels.

Institutional Partner

A government actor or institution capable of converting movement pressure and attention into actual law or policy.

Why Protest Alone May Not Change Law

Protest can raise attention and put an issue on the agenda, but legislators, courts, agencies, or other institutions usually must act to produce policy change.