Political Parties and Interest Groups in Democracy

1. Political Parties Interest Aggregation Interest Representation

2. Political Parties vs. Interest Groups • both represent political interests • political parties also aggregate interests • interest groups strive to influence political outcomes • political parties strive to become the governing party

3. Type of Political Parties • basis of organization • electoral-professional parties vs. mass parties • basis of electoral competition • pragmatic parties (brokerage parties) • ideological-programmatic parties • interest parties

4. Ideological/Programmatic Parties • organized around social cleavages • class • religion • ethnicity • region

5. The Ideological Spectrum The Left -- Socialist The Right -- Conservative Less Gov’t More Gov’t • greater reliance on the market • fewer government regulations • no special treatment for special interest groups • lower taxes • government regulation of the economy • policies to help disadvantaged groups • policies to redistribute income

6. General Trends, Political Parties • the rise of pragmatism • parties increasingly competing to occupy the centre of the political spectrum

7. The Ideological Spectrum The Rise of Pragmatism The Left -- Socialist The Right -- Conservative Tony Blair (Britain) New Labour Bill Clinton (US) New Democrats George W. Bush (US) Compassionate Conservatism

8. General Trends, Political Parties • single member plurality systems encourage pragmatic parties; PR promotes ideological/interest parties • the rise of pragmatism • parties increasingly competing to occupy the centre of the political spectrum • reasons? • the fall of communism

9. Political Parties & Democracy • mass parties vs. electoral-professional parties • mass parties encourage greater participation in politics by the public • majoritarian democrats • electoral-professional parties • elite democrats

10. Political Parties & Democracy • ideological/interest parties vs. pragmatic parties • ideological/interest parties • gives clear electoral choices • help make elections meaningful • encourages greater mass participation • majoritarian democrats • pragmatic parties • depend on party elites • elections • differences between parties are limited • electoral choice is really about best management team • elite democrats

11. Interest Groups Interest Representation

12. Interest Groups • are organizations whose members act together to influence gov’t policy on specific issues, without contesting elections (different from parties!) • lobbying • play an important role in representing citizen demands to gov’t

13. Determinants of Interest Group Influence: • size (membership) and cohesion • information, expertise • leadership, level of organization • resources • high-status (celebrity) membership • values, goals, tactics, issue - compatible with broader political culture? e.g., Sierra Club vs Greenpeace vs Earth First!

14. Determinants – cont’d • links to decision-makers • gov’t receptivity, is function of: • budgets • philosophy compatible? • public opinion supportive? • media attention? • credibility? • institutionalization: degree to which a group has become an acknowledged actor in/part of the political process • institutional/associational/anomic interest groups • co-optation?

15. Interest Groups and Democracy • liberal democracy • pluralism • as long as individuals are free to form interest groups, interest group competition represents interests in society • groups do not have to be equal; have to have equal opportunity to compete

16. Interest Groups and Democracy • majoritarian democratic critique of pluralism • interest group politics is grossly uneven • well-financed, privileged interests hold the advantage • the paradox of interest group influence • the strongest interest groups (e.g. economic interests) do not have to lobby in order to have influence

17. Interest Groups and Democracy • elite democracy • interest group competition and lobbying (even if grossly uneven) is fine so long... • as political elites retain the power to make overall decisions in the general welfare • the summation of all interest group demands does not equal the general welfare