Democracy And Participation- The Nature Of Pressure Groups And Differences Between Pressure And Political Groups Flashcards
Pressure group
A pressure group is an organisation that seeks to influence public policy.
How many types of pressure groups are there?
2
Promotional groups
Sectional groups
Promotional groups
Examples
Black Live Matter
Focuses strongly on police treatment of black people
Promotional groups
+ They are altruistic in that they serve the whole community, not just their
own members and supporters.
+ They tend to concentrate on mobilising public opinion and putting pressure on government in that way. They seek widespread support.
+ They often use ‘direct action’ in the form of public demonstrations, internet campaigns and sometimes civil disobedience.
+ They often, but not always, focus on one specific issue or a range of issues
relating to a general cause.
Sectional group
Example
Example:
the National Education Union primarily looks after the interests
of teachers.
Sectional groups
+ They are largely (although not always) self-interested in that they serve the interests of their own members and supporters.
+ Although they seek public support, they tend to promote direct links with
decision makers (achieving insider status).
+ Their methods tend to be more subtle and less in the public eye, and they often take the parliamentary route to influence.
+ They usually have a formal, closed membership.
+ Often, sectional groups represent a specific section of the workforce.
Differences between pressure groups and political parties
Areas of comparison:
Power
Accountability
Policies
Membership
Area of comparison:
Power
Parties and pressure groups
Partiesss
Seek to gain power or a share of power
Pressure groups
Do not generally seek governmental power
Area of comparison:
Accountability
Parties and pressure groups
Partiess
Have to make themselves accountable to the electorate
Pressure groups
Not accountable except to their own members
Area of comparison:
Policies
Parties and pressure groups
Partiesss
Develop policies across all or most areas of government responsibility
Pressure groups
Usually have narrower concerns and sometimes are concerned with only one issue
Area of comparison:
Membership
Parties and pressure groups
Partiess
Usually have a formal membership and some kind of formal organisation
Pressure groups
Often have supporters rather than members
While there are clear differences between most pressure groups and political parties…
some pressure groups transform themselves into political parties in order to stand candidates for elections and bring more attention to a particular cause.
The National Health Action Party stood candidates for a number of elections to raise awareness of NHS cuts.
