1 / 12

Interest Groups and Social Movements

Interest Groups and Social Movements. Forms of political participation Express demands to decision makers Strategies reflect resources and opportunities Interest groups = organizations citizens form to influence policy-makers

sol
Download Presentation

Interest Groups and Social Movements

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript


  1. Interest Groups and Social Movements • Forms of political participation • Express demands to decision makers • Strategies reflect resources and opportunities • Interest groups = organizations citizens form to influence policy-makers • Social movements = engage in unconventional, confrontational forms of political activism

  2. Interest Groups • Vast majority (pre-1970) represent business interests (firms, trade associations, peak organizations) • Iron triangles= interest groups, congressional subcommittees, federal agencies pursuing policies advantageous to them (e.g., defense contracting) • Growth in number since 1970s; outgrowth of civil rights, environmental, consumer, and feminist social movements (of 1960s) • “protest to politics”

  3. David and Goliath • Business mobilized in reaction • Business groups largest, most organized, best-funded • More resources (money, staff, connections) • ½ of all lobbying groups; 85% of all total lobbying expenditures • Broad range of issues • Sophisticated, multifaceted lobbying • Campaign contributions, analysis; media, public opinion • More extensive, intensive • Use social connections, mobilization of bias • Business advantage checked when interests conflict or when opposed by public opinion

  4. Changing Quality of Membership • Forming organizations requires time, leadership, resources; skills and resources not evenly distributed among groups • Higher status groups more common • Incentives to join, bear cost of organization • Material benefits (stuff) • Purposive incentives (common values, goals) • Interest group surge (since 1970s) due to recruitment on purposive incentives • Change in quality and class character of memberships • Mass membership organizations face increasing competition from professional advocacy groups with middle and upper class supporters

  5. E-Media, Interest Groups, and Political Participation • Internetincreased reach while reducing costs • Makes bureaucracy less necessary • Transformative effect on politics; facilitates collective action • Political entrepreneurs can mobilize virtual community • Quickens pace of politics (recruitment, mobilization, and group formation) • Interest group universe less stable • More direct communication between members, independent of leaders and formal organizations

  6. Comparative Perspective • Rich democracies (Table 5.2) • Pluralist interest group systems (e.g., U.S.): divided, decentralized government; open policy making; weak political parties • Less encompassing; larger in number; more competitive; less centralized; weaker • Corporatist interest group systems (e.g., Austria, Germany, Sweden): licensing by state; compulsory membership; inclusion in policy making • More encompassing; fewer in number; less competitive; more centralized; stronger (sanctioning power) • Pluralist groups = press demands single-mindedly; adversarial, uncompromising • Corporatist = moderate group demands; larger/broader memberships encourage most general interest; inclusion encourages compromise for greater good

  7. Social Movements • Not as hierarchical, formally organized • More ideological, contentious • More active and demanding level of participation • Arise in response to changes in political environment, new opportunities • Empower followers and develop sense of moral legitimacy • Organizations develop and disseminate alternative culture • identities, resources, and activities • “free spaces” where oppositional culture can grow • Flourish when expand conflict, mobilize former bystanders • Older social movements based around work, occupation • New social movements organized around identities, moral values, quality-of-life

  8. Labor Movement • Congress passes National Labor Relations Act(1935) = right of workers to form unions; union membership surges • Social security, unemployment compensation, minimum-wage laws • Labor becomes powerful political force (allied with Democratic Party) • Greater working class influence in politics • Union contracts include wages, grievances, promotions, hiring, and layoffs • Membership peaks (1945), 35% of workforce unionized • Management tries to roll back gains following WWII; massive strikes • Republican Congress passes Taft-Hartley Act (1946), constrains unions and strikes • (1955) AFL-CIO merge, collective bargaining routinized, includes pensions, health insurance; increasingly centralized • Workers enjoy more security, higher standard of living, greater political influence • Business pushes back (1970s and 1980s) demands labor concessions • Union membership declines: changes in labor law make it harder to organize; employers increasingly antagonistic; drop in manufacturing jobs • Labor movement depleted, disarmed • Increasing numbers would like to belong to union • Strong support for Democratic party

  9. Women’s Movement • First wave (1848) abolitionist movement (parallels between oppression of slaves and women) • (1890s) National American Woman Suffrage Association organized diverse women’s groups into movement, pressured Congress to pass 19thAmendment (1920) • Second wave (1960s) (tied to struggle for black equality) • National Organization of Women (NOW) (1966) civil rights organization lobbied for equal rights • Achievements on pay and employment discrimination • Fell short on Equal Rights Amendment • Consciousness-raising groups challenged patriarchy • Included liberal feminists, socialist feminists • Third wave (1990s) • Identity-based, women’s empowerment

  10. Religious Right • New Deal  Modern conservatism • Antagonized supporters of small government, free markets • Ethnic working-class voters threatened southern control of Democratic Party • New Deal coalition pushed Republican Party, business supporters to minority status • Emergence of Religious Right (evangelical, fundamentalist Christians) • Response to social issues (sex education, gay rights, abortion rights) and government policies • Moral decay, failure to maintain Christian values • Supporters from across class spectrum • Shifting political opportunities • Political entrepreneurs provide direction, resources • More powerful social movement of our time • Allied with Republican Party; critical to resurgence

  11. Environmental Movement • First wave (Progressive era, early 1900s) = conservationists and preservationists • Sierra Club formed to manage public domain in public interest; pushed for expansion of scope of government to include environment responsibility • Second wave (post-WWII) = ecology movement • Clean air, pure water, safe food • New Left (1960s) = eco-sabotage, teach-ins; proactive, radical; critiqued consumerism, corporate power; authenticity, fundamental change • 1970s = environmentalism vs. economic growth; environmentalists as elitists; Republicans opposed to government regulation • Today, diverse movement (ecology = opposed to global warming; deep ecology = environmental justice (racial and class inequality)) • Fundamentalist and pragmatic wing; radical transformative change and working within system

  12. Conclusion • Political participationopen, not free; facilitated by class-related factors (time, money, education, civic skills, self-confidence, and contacts with social networks) • Uneven distribution of resources  uneven levels of political participation  inequalities in political outcomes • Policymakers respond to demands expressed; issues considered and what is done reflects interests of those who have resources to make views heard • Inequalities in political participation/political outcomes not inevitable • Citizens can develop political voices, change policies through elections, political parties, interest groups, and social movements

More Related