Interest groups and Foreign Policy
Introduction
In this paper I am going to compare and contrast how interest groups both internal and external affect the foreign policy of a developing nation and how they affect the foreign policy of a developed state.
Foreign policy is a strategy a government uses in dealing with other states.
Interest groups or special interest groups are any association of individual or organizations that on the basis of one or more shared concerns, attempt to influence public policy in its favor usually by lobbying members of the government.
Interest groups may be classified according to their motivation: economic, including individual corporations and business organizations; professional, including professional groups such as trade unions and farmers; public interest, including human rights groups, environmental groups, among others. For the purposes of this query, we will focus on the influence of economic interest groups.
We can have internal and external interest groups that influence a country’s foreign policy. Internal interest groups can include; wealthy business people, multinational corporations (MNCs), opposition parties/ groups and many others. External interest groups include; international organizations, MNCs, terrorist groups, non-governmental organizations and many others.
In international politics interest groups play a major role in shaping the international relations of a state. In a state we can have interest groups which pressure the government of the day to introduce certain policies in order to serve their interest. For example powerful business owners who have business interest all over the world can make their state to push for laws internationally to serve their interest a good exampl...
... middle of paper ...
...s a reason to make it happen and those reasons are interest groups, these push policies by lobbying the government of the day.
Conclusion
Interest groups are associations of individuals or organizations that on the basis of one or more shared concerns, attempts to influence public policy in its favor usually by lobbying members of the government. Interest groups influence on policy making is not a corrupt or illegitimate activity per se, but a key element of the decision-making process. However, disproportionate and opaque interest group influence may lead to administrative corruption, undue influence, and state capture, favoring particular interest groups at the expense of public interest. Transparency is thus key to ensure that policy-makers do not give preferential treatment for specific interest groups. Regulations on lobbying, Conflict of interest, asset.
One of the most important groups would be the Big Five. “The most money, being 82% of the Federal Budget is put into this group” (Document C). This group includes Interest on National
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.
Many of these assemblies we can call voluntary or interest groups. A few examples of these types of groups include labor unions, banks, corporations, environmental activists, civil rights activists, and trade associations. These groups work to sway the public for or against certain issues, as well as lobby for political candidates who will represent those views.
An interest group is any organization that seeks to influence public policy. Interest groups are found in many societies, America being no exception. Theodore Lowi, Political Science Professor at Cornell University, explores the effects interest groups, or liberal pluralism, has had and will continue to have on politics in the United States. Lowi authored the work in the late 20th century but his arguments are still plausible today. The work is split into four parts, beginning with the origins and background on liberalism in the Unites States, then moving into issues with liberal governments, and lastly the book deals with other government systems beyond liberalism. Lowi himself describes his work as a textbook inquiry into the character of
By establishing this relationship, the interest groups are indirectly helping the executive agencies get their funds and the interest groups gains favorable regulations and contracts from these agencies in exchange. (429) Although some critics argue that interest groups can result to Corruption such as the case with Jack Abramoff (438), Demosclerosis that slows down government functions (439), and Inequality by tilting democracy to the wealthy and powerful since they are the ones who can afford lobbying services (440), I believe that Interest groups are good for democracy. We define democracy as a government in which the people rule and make decisions for themselves, and through interest groups the people are given the chance to be better represented and become actively involve in decision-making. Interest groups represent the people specially the minority, arguably expand the range of perspectives that government officials hear, facilitate a two-way communication between the people and the government by conveying citizen views to government officials and providing information about government activities to the people, encourage
Twyman, D., & Whitney, C. (2009, September 1). Interest Groups in American Politics. Retrieved from The American Citizen: http://www.twyman- whitney.com/americancitizen/links/lobbies.htm
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.
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
These pluralistic interest groups are free to operate and lobby in the political arena, fighting against the majority and other competing factions for voice in Congress. With the influence of multiple factions operating throughout the political system, a balance of power is created (Kernell 2000, 429). This is much like the international theory of sovereign states balancing each other’s power to create a political system that focuses on stability, yet is always in a constant flux of power. With this in mind, special interest groups are constantly contending for power by raising money, campaigning, and lobbying in Congress. When a special interest group is threatened by a competing policy, the group will organize efforts to balance, or transcend the power of the competing group.
Interest groups are an interesting part of politics that usually gets overlooked. The term interest group is self-explanatory but the definition can be a bit more politically thorough: An organized group that tries to influence the government to adopt certain interests, policies, or measures also called pressure group. Interest group refers to virtually any voluntary association that seeks to publicly promote and create advantages for its cause. America is a melting-pot of races, religions, languages, cultures, beliefs, and ideas, yet it only
...s to the analysis of politics, in that governments are self-interested who seek to maximize power and as a result they will not satisfy “public interests” (McBride, 2011, p. 30). It logically follows then that these theorists proclaim that the driving force behind policy agendas are special interests and not the people (or globalization).
Pressure Groups and Their Influence on the Government Britain is often referred to as a homogenous society as the public. tend to share similar political views. However, more recently, there. has been a decline in membership to political parties and an increase. in the membership of pressure groups. In this essay I will define pressure groups, information surrounding such as the amount of power.
The international system is an anarchical system which means that, unlike the states, there is no over ruling, governing body that enforces laws and regulations that all states must abide by. The International System in today’s society has become highly influential from a number of significant factors. Some of these factors that will be discussed are Power held by the state, major Wars that have been fought out in recent history and international organisations such as the U.N, NATO and the W.T.O. Each of these factors, have a great influence over the international system and as a result, the states abilities to “freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social, and cultural development”.