US PRESSURE GROUPS
5.3 INTEREST GROUPS IN THE USA – THEIR SIGNIFICANCE, RESOURCES, TACTICS AND
DEBATES ABOUT THEIR IMPACT ON DEMOCRACY (PARTS 1 & 2)
The influence, methods and power of at least one single interest group, professional group or policy group
Pressure groups should be defined as groups of like-minded people lobbying those in positions of power, to
seek change. The ultimate justification for pressure groups activity is the theory of pluralism, which is the
argument that in a healthy democracy political power is distributed among a number of groups which
represent different interests within society. The 1st amendment, establishing freedom of speech, the press and
assembly underpins pluralism. US pressure groups enjoy multiple access points in a highly federalized political
system. Therefore, they operate at all levels of society – federal, state, local – and seek to influence all three
branches of government – executive, legislature and judiciary. There are thousands of such groups in the USA,
reflecting the wide diversity of interests which exist within the country.
Types of pressure group
They may service a wide variety of purposes, such as:
o Single issue groups e.g., NRA to protect Second Amendments rights and combat gun control measures
which they regard as too restrictive; MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving)
o Professional e.g., American Farm Bureau Federation
o Policy e.g., Environment America
o Think Tanks e.g., the Institute for Policy Studies (liberal), Brookings Institution (liberal), Heritage
Foundation (conservative), American Enterprise Institute (conservative). These organisations conduct
research write reports published journals hard conferences and produce articles for the press
o Charities e.g., American Red Cross, Salvation Army
o Public interest groups e.g., Friends of the Earth
o Political Action Committees (PAC’s) and SuperPACs
o Group Rights e.g., NAACP; NOW and AARP (American Association of Retired Persons (biggest interest
group in US)
o Religious and ideological e.g., ACU (American Conservative Union); ACLU (American Civil Liberties
Union); Christian Coalition; Tea Party (fiscal conservatives)
Institutional groups = organisations which represent groups rather than individuals, or sometimes represent
other pressure groups as an umbrella group with the aim of wielding great influence over the government
o Economic and business groups e.g., Associated Milk Producers
o Economic Umbrella Groups e.g., American Business Conference, National Association of Manufacturers
o Unions e.g., United Auto Workers
o Profession Associations e.g., American Medical Association, American Bar Association
The Functions of Pressure Groups
Representation = they allow a more specific form of US citizens can have their views represented and
representation than offered by the 2 main parties their grievances articulated. They are an important
link between the public and politicians. They provide
, a channel of easy access through which ordinary
Americans can voice their opinions. For many, these
will be their most important way in which their
strongest-held beliefs are represented. They can also
share their views in three branches of government at
federal, state and local levels.
Citizen participation = in a country with often They increase opportunities for ordinary citizens to
lower rates of turnout than other Western participate in the decision-making process between
democracies, interest groups offer voters another elections. As election days are just one day in a year,
way to be politically active beyond voting or many seek greater, more frequent participation in
campaigning directly for a party candidate the democratic process. They also offer opportunity
to participate in specific policy are. They will write
letters, email legislators, organise marches or utilise
social media to publicise and advance their cause
Public education They may attempt to use their platform as a means of
education to the public on a specific policy area or n
issue that the government does not discuss (i.e., such
as to do with the environment). This could be to do
with abortion, the environment, racial or gender
injustice. As a number of interest groups have a big
platform, they are able to spread the message widely
– through protest, social media etc. They often
publicise problems (such as data around the climate
crisis) in order to educate people on these specific
issues.
Agenda building They may attempt to influence the agendas of
political parties, legislators and bureaucrats to give
priority to their members’ interests. They may bring
together different parts of US society to achieve a
common interest. For example, a number of pro-life
groups have worked together to get several states to
pass “heartbeat bills”. From 2010 to 2018 more than
400 abortion-related bills in 41 states were
substantially copied from model bills written by
these special -interest groups, with 89 of the bills
being passed into law.
Programme monitoring They may scrutinise and hold the government to
account in the implementation of policies to ensure
that promises are fulfilled, policies delivered, and
regulations enforced. After the passage of the
Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act in 2002 there
appeared studies on the law’s impact on the funding
of campaigns. As a result of such monitoring, interest
groups such as the NRA and the ACLU will sometimes
bring cases to the state and federal courts, asking the
judicial branch of government to monitor the effects
of legislation. It was the ACLU that brought the first
5.3 INTEREST GROUPS IN THE USA – THEIR SIGNIFICANCE, RESOURCES, TACTICS AND
DEBATES ABOUT THEIR IMPACT ON DEMOCRACY (PARTS 1 & 2)
The influence, methods and power of at least one single interest group, professional group or policy group
Pressure groups should be defined as groups of like-minded people lobbying those in positions of power, to
seek change. The ultimate justification for pressure groups activity is the theory of pluralism, which is the
argument that in a healthy democracy political power is distributed among a number of groups which
represent different interests within society. The 1st amendment, establishing freedom of speech, the press and
assembly underpins pluralism. US pressure groups enjoy multiple access points in a highly federalized political
system. Therefore, they operate at all levels of society – federal, state, local – and seek to influence all three
branches of government – executive, legislature and judiciary. There are thousands of such groups in the USA,
reflecting the wide diversity of interests which exist within the country.
Types of pressure group
They may service a wide variety of purposes, such as:
o Single issue groups e.g., NRA to protect Second Amendments rights and combat gun control measures
which they regard as too restrictive; MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving)
o Professional e.g., American Farm Bureau Federation
o Policy e.g., Environment America
o Think Tanks e.g., the Institute for Policy Studies (liberal), Brookings Institution (liberal), Heritage
Foundation (conservative), American Enterprise Institute (conservative). These organisations conduct
research write reports published journals hard conferences and produce articles for the press
o Charities e.g., American Red Cross, Salvation Army
o Public interest groups e.g., Friends of the Earth
o Political Action Committees (PAC’s) and SuperPACs
o Group Rights e.g., NAACP; NOW and AARP (American Association of Retired Persons (biggest interest
group in US)
o Religious and ideological e.g., ACU (American Conservative Union); ACLU (American Civil Liberties
Union); Christian Coalition; Tea Party (fiscal conservatives)
Institutional groups = organisations which represent groups rather than individuals, or sometimes represent
other pressure groups as an umbrella group with the aim of wielding great influence over the government
o Economic and business groups e.g., Associated Milk Producers
o Economic Umbrella Groups e.g., American Business Conference, National Association of Manufacturers
o Unions e.g., United Auto Workers
o Profession Associations e.g., American Medical Association, American Bar Association
The Functions of Pressure Groups
Representation = they allow a more specific form of US citizens can have their views represented and
representation than offered by the 2 main parties their grievances articulated. They are an important
link between the public and politicians. They provide
, a channel of easy access through which ordinary
Americans can voice their opinions. For many, these
will be their most important way in which their
strongest-held beliefs are represented. They can also
share their views in three branches of government at
federal, state and local levels.
Citizen participation = in a country with often They increase opportunities for ordinary citizens to
lower rates of turnout than other Western participate in the decision-making process between
democracies, interest groups offer voters another elections. As election days are just one day in a year,
way to be politically active beyond voting or many seek greater, more frequent participation in
campaigning directly for a party candidate the democratic process. They also offer opportunity
to participate in specific policy are. They will write
letters, email legislators, organise marches or utilise
social media to publicise and advance their cause
Public education They may attempt to use their platform as a means of
education to the public on a specific policy area or n
issue that the government does not discuss (i.e., such
as to do with the environment). This could be to do
with abortion, the environment, racial or gender
injustice. As a number of interest groups have a big
platform, they are able to spread the message widely
– through protest, social media etc. They often
publicise problems (such as data around the climate
crisis) in order to educate people on these specific
issues.
Agenda building They may attempt to influence the agendas of
political parties, legislators and bureaucrats to give
priority to their members’ interests. They may bring
together different parts of US society to achieve a
common interest. For example, a number of pro-life
groups have worked together to get several states to
pass “heartbeat bills”. From 2010 to 2018 more than
400 abortion-related bills in 41 states were
substantially copied from model bills written by
these special -interest groups, with 89 of the bills
being passed into law.
Programme monitoring They may scrutinise and hold the government to
account in the implementation of policies to ensure
that promises are fulfilled, policies delivered, and
regulations enforced. After the passage of the
Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act in 2002 there
appeared studies on the law’s impact on the funding
of campaigns. As a result of such monitoring, interest
groups such as the NRA and the ACLU will sometimes
bring cases to the state and federal courts, asking the
judicial branch of government to monitor the effects
of legislation. It was the ACLU that brought the first
