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State and explain three differences and two similarities of interest groups and political parties
Role of special interest groups
Introduction on the difference between political party and interest group
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Interest groups and political parties play a significant part in the political system. However, interest groups and political parties differ in their objectives and goals. The fundamental goal of interest groups is changing laws. With a particular interest in an issue, interest groups attempt to change the law by trying to influence public policy. Interest groups wish to see their interests incorporated in the government.
The fundamental goal of major political parties is the election of its members to office. The political parties strive to secure the elective office for their people to have their parties’ interests heard. In doing so, political parties wish to gain the control of government. Through the election of office, the political party hopes to have the elected member of the party carry out political agenda related to the party’s interest.
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One way for the groups to support political parties’ goal is the mobilization of people. Interest groups generally gather people with common interest. Through activities such as the grassroots movement, interest groups raise awareness of a specific issue. During the process, interest groups can endorse a candidate from a political party that has the same beliefs as the interest groups do, extending the number of supporters of the political party
A political party is a group of people who seek to win elections and hold public office in order to shape government policy and programs. George Washington warned the nation against creating political parties in his famous “Farewell Address”. He feared political parties would divide the country and weaken support for the Constitution (Doc 4). The first major political parties, the Federalists and the Republicans, were created during the term of President George Washington. Despite President Washington’s warning, the rise of the two political parties, in the years after his term, was inevitable.
Party is an inevitable feature of the democracy and it is defined as ‘an autonomous group of citizens having the purpose of making nominations and contesting elections in the hope of gaining control over governmental power through the capture of public offices and the organization of the government’ (Caramani, 2011, p.220). Parties are ubiquitous in modern political systems and they perform a number of functions, they are: coordination, contesting elections, recruitment, and representation (Caramani, 2011). Political parties are the product of the parliamentary and electoral game, and party systems reflect the social oppositions that characterize society when parties first appear (Coxall et al., 2011).
Interest groups, lobbyists, large corporations, and PACs try to influence the congressional committees' bills so they can have a say in the legislative process. When an interest group hears about a bill that is being debated on in a committee, they try to influence a members vote and they try to get a part of the bill changed. For example, a lobbyist came to me on a bill I proposed on making health care plans have no minimum requirement on benefits the company gives to its patients. He told me about how he did not get the right treatments and tests done on diseases he has and now is suffering badly from them. It was because the health plan did not have to give him anything extra. He changed my mind on the bill, and I changed the bill to setting a minimum standard on benefits given to patients.
We elect politicians on the basis on the issues by which they stand, and these issues are either held up or weakened by the numerous interest groups that exist today. Interest groups target both major and minor issues, using all of their resources to sponsor or overpower the groups’ concern. Interest groups are composed of a limited range of the body of voters who have a great stake in the issues their group support. They make evident the issues their group supports. Their resources are used in an attempt to make their issue public policy. Interest groups are persistent; they do not give up until they succeed. They lobby congress, take legal action, and attempt to influence election results in order to benefit their cause. ”The AARP monitors local and national legislation of interest to its members.”1 The AARP, an example of a non-PAC interest group, focus their efforts to electioneering and media. They influence the elections through their voter guides, election forums and the large senior voting population. Through television, radio, and periodicals the AARP is able to achieve many of their goals to aid retired persons.
Aside from those worries, supporters of political parties make the point that these institutions take stances on social issues and provide a base of voters to vote for candidates that represent the party well. This can aid voters to know a general background on their potential elected leaders so that they can choose
There are many different definitions of what a pressure group is Peter Lynch argues that a pressure groups is ‘Private, voluntary associations that wish to influence or control particular public policies, without becoming the government and controlling all public policy (Lynch, 2007, p. 245). Another definition is ‘Pressure groups are social aggregates with some level of cohesion and shared aims which attempt to influence the political decision-making process’ (Ball, A.R. and Millard, F, 1986, pp. 33-4). A final definition is ‘A pressure group is any organization that aims it influence public policy by seeking to persuade decision-making by lobbying rather than by standing for election’ (Coxall, 2001, p. 3). Overall pressure groups exist to help groups of people or causes, to promote their interest and will try to influence a certain section of society whether it is the government or the general p...
Do they play an important role in our democracy since they claim that they represent many people? There has been a continuing debate over the proper role of interest groups in the United States democracy. Interest groups are organized group of individuals who share the same ideas and their main goal is to influence media, lawmakers, and people with their ideas. On one hand, interest groups members and their leaders assert that they offer crucial information and services to the lawmakers and that lawmakers aren’t experts regarding every bill proposed
Essentially, interest groups use many different tactics to accomplish their central goals but this paper will detail 2 of them. The first being lobbying, which is the act of persuading businesses as well as government leaders to help a specific organization by changing laws or creating events in favor of that group. Interest groups use this technique by hiring someone to represent them and advocate their cause to on the behalf of the entire group. These hired representatives usually have more than enough experience within the political field and are able to persuade connections within the government for help with their concerns. This method gets a lot of criticism because although lobbyist offer their input to government officials on pending laws, they only look at what is favorable for their cause. When trying to make a difference you have to not only reflect on your argument but on the side affects of that argument as
The advocacy explosion is strongly linked to the decline of the American political party and the role of the political parties in elections. As interest groups have gained more power and had a larger control over politics and political goods the power that is exerted by political parties has dwindled. The power of the interest group has grown larger with the amount of members and the financial rewards that have come with the new members. In elections interest groups do not usually participate directly with the candidate or the election. Berry points out that “Groups often try to leverage their endorsement to obtain support for one of their priorities” (Berry, 53). With interest groups spreading their resources around the actual election can be affected very minimally by the many interest groups that contribute money to the election. However, the candidates who obtain political office through the help of special interest money still owe some sort of loyalty to the interest group regardless of which party wins the election. This loyalty and the promise of more money in the future gives the elected of...
Interest articulation is one of the functions of the political process that we can use to compare all political systems. It is also one of the process functions necessary for policy’s to be made and implemented in any kind of political system. These process functions play a direct and necessary role in the process of making policy. Interest articulation involves individuals and groups expressing their needs and demands. Most political systems have different forms of interest articulation to determine what the public and social groups want from their
I think political parties are essential to our government. Political parties can be formed by citizens that enable individuals to have influence on government affairs and processes. Political parties provide people the ability to express themselves and make decisions about government. Political parties have many roles in the society that include offering individuals with alternatives and freedom of choice, checks on government, give important information to citizens and make government fulfills its promises. The first role of political parties is to ensure that individuals have freedom of choice.
2.4. Change and Goal in a Political Party As an organisation, political parties experience internal dynamics and have main goals. The party change, according to Harmel and Janda (1994: 275), can be defined as any variation, alteration, or modification in how parties are organised, what human and material resources they can draw upon, what they stand for and what they do. Harmel and Janda (1994: 266-268) convincingly provide four driving variables which determine a change in the party. First is leadership change.
An interest group is a group that shares a common interest and works together to protect & promote these interests by trying to influence the government. They are usually divided into two categories: economic and noneconomic. Economic groups work to gain private goods which are only beneficial to the members of that group. The noneconomic groups are interest groups that instead of working towards material gains, they fight for causes. They work towards public goods that benefit all of society.
The government ensures that the citizens are living in a peaceful country, with security, better service delivery and it also a good thing allowing people to participate in decision making through voting. The political parties play a role in providing these resources to the people like; clean water, repair roads, remove garbage, etc. When we come to voting between different parties that under the government we vote for how they deliver services to the society. The election time where every party goes to an electoral campaign to present the candidate that they nominated to stand for them in the political office and make promises to the people into how they can change the world and how they can deliver services much better than the party that is already in charge. They normally d...
Grass roots mobilization: groups of likeminded individuals that bring about a solution to a public problem. These groups may not form larger coalitions and tend to disagree with the means of how to solve problem. These individuals and groups use numerous tactics to advance their interests. The tactics can include lobbying, advocating their positions publicly, attempting to educate supporters and opponents, and mobilizing allies on a particular issue. Perfect policies rarely emerge from the political process. Most often policy outcomes involve compromises among interested parties. Such as, Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (MADD), Megan Law (Sex Offender).