Student Resources - Chapter six
Chapter 6: Pressure Groups
SETTING THE SCENE
This chapter will deal with the world of pressure groups and pressure politics. Is this where the real power is to be found in British politics - behind the scenes, in the organizations which work to influence the government and also the citizens, by persuading them that policy needs to be changed or new political approaches adopted-
KEY TOPICS
- What are pressure groups?
- Sectional pressure groups and cause pressure groups
- Insider and outsider pressure groups
- How do pressure groups operate? Who do they try to influence?
- What makes a pressure group successful?
- Are pressure groups in decline or are they growing in importance?
- Do pressure groups benefit or hinder democracy?
Are any of the terms below unclear to you? If so, perhaps you should look over this chapter or use the searchable glossary to familiarise yourself with these terms.
- Pressure group
- Primary pressure groups
- Secondary pressure groups
- Cause pressure groups
- Sectional pressure groups
- Peak pressure groups
- Insider pressure groups
- Outsider pressure groups
- Access point
- Pressure-response model
- Intentional model
- Think-tanks
- Functional representation
- Policy communities
Matching Exercise: Chapter Six
| Pressure group | Those pressure groups which have political pressure as their main concern. |
| Primary pressure groups | An association of people who try to influence those who have political power. |
| Secondary pressure groups | Associations which have as their main aim the achievement of influence over a particular area of policy. |
| Cause pressure groups | Those pressure groups which have other primary concerns, and which use political pressure occasionally and incidentally to their chief interests, which may be commercial, charitable or social in nature. |
| Sectional pressure groups | A super-pressure group appointed to represent the interests of several smaller groups. |
| Peak pressure groups | Associations which have as their main aim the defence of the interests of a particular section of the community. |
| Insider pressure group | One which is not blessed with the degree of contact enjoyed by an insider group, and which cannot therefore have such influence. |
| Outsider pressure group | One which has strong links with those people who have political power and is therefore in a good position to influence policy. |
| Access point | A model that states that if enough pressure were applied to the political system by a pressure group, there would be a corresponding response by the government. |
| Pressure-response model | A point of contact between the people with power politically and those protest movements or pressure groups which seek to influence them: e.g. Parliament, government departments, law courts, local and devolved government, the EU. |
| Intentional model | A model that postulates that the intention of the party in government at the time is the key factor in the implementation of new policies. |
| Think-tanks | All the actors participating in the public policy process – MPs, civil servants, NGOs and advocacy groups, policy analysts and research institutes. |
| Functional representation | The representation of different interests through the existence of associations dedicated to representing their views, and keeping government informed of their needs and grievances. |
| Policy communities | Small groups of like-minded researchers and academics that join together and write pamphlets and articles urging the government to develop the sort of policies they like. |
Further Reading
P. Byrne, Social Movements in Britain (Routledge, 1997): sets the topic in a wider context.
Bill Coxall, Pressure Groups in British Politics (Pearson Longman, 2001): solid summary of the current state of research.
Rob Baggott, Pressure Groups Today (Manchester University Press, 1995): a good overview of the topic.
Wyn Grant, Pressure Groups and British Politics (Macmillan 2000): significant contribution to the debate about how to define the various types of group.
S. Mazey and J. J. Richardson (eds), Lobbying in the European Community (1993): explores the all-important EU connections.
Websites
A sample of websites produced by prominent pressure groups:
- www.adamsmith.org (Electoral Commission)
- www.amnesty.org (Amnesty International)
- www.cbi.org.uk (The Confederation of British Industry)
- www.countryside-alliance.org (The Countryside Alliance)
- www.fathers-4-justice.org (Fathers for Justice)
- www.foe.co.uk (Friends of the Earth)
- www.greenpeace.org (Greenpeace)
- www.liberty-human-rights.org.uk (Liberty)
- www.spuc.org.uk (Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child)
- www.stopwar.org.uk (Stop the War Coalition)
- www.tuc.org.uk (The Trade Union Congress)
Multiple Choice Quiz 6
Click here to access the Multiple Choice Quiz for this Chapter.
