Pressure Groups Versus Political Parties

How do interest groups legitimate their policy advocacy? Reconsidering linkage and internal democracy in times of digital disruption

“…Interest groups have long featured in accounts of the democratic infrastructure of contemporary Western political systems (see for instance Key ; Schattschneider ; for a recent discussion see Hacker and Pierson ). Classic discussions of political responsiveness, especially in majoritarian systems, pencil in important roles for groups in ensuring that minority views are voiced adequately.…”

“…Interest groups have long featured in accounts of the democratic infrastructure of contemporary Western political systems (see for instance Key 1942;Schattschneider 1948; for a recent discussion see Hacker and Pierson 2014).…”

The Ecology of Party–Organized Interest Relationships

“…The lack of a program meant that organized special interests, rather than parties, determine the government's agenda, leading to incoherence in policy and a lack of responsiveness to the majority. 17 Schattschneider was for the most part thinking in aggregate terms about competition between party and interest group systems over the control of the political agenda and policy, but he also noted that individual organized interests and parties sometimes directly compete for resources. He made this observation when he was critical of even seemingly public-spirited good government or public interest groups because these organized interests ''compete with the political parties for the services of the best citizens in the community. ''…”

“…He made this observation when he was critical of even seemingly public-spirited good government or public interest groups because these organized interests ''compete with the political parties for the services of the best citizens in the community. '' 18 Although little research has been done on this type of competition, Richardson argues that parties and interest groups compete for the resources of political activists in Europe and finds that countries with large interest group membership increases have seen the steepest declines in party membership. 19 Parties and organized interests might also compete for the loyalties of political elites like office-seekers because both parties and interests provide many of the same campaign services like polling and mobilizing voters.…”

“…According to Schattschneider this led to policymaking by organized minorities rather than the majority, an argument that Lowi later echoed and elaborated upon. 79 At first glance, when we think of conflict between parties and groups, we might think of organizations with diametrically opposed agendas such as labor and the Republican Party. In Schattschneider's view, however, an organized interest that has a policy agenda entirely hostile to the party would not undermine the party and, in fact, would probably strengthen the party by making its policy preferences clearer and unifying the party in opposition to it.…”