INTEREST GROUP

also called special-interest group any aggregate of individuals that, on the basis of one or more shared concerns, makes claims upon groups or society in general in order to promote its objectives. In developing societies, the prominent type of interest group is the primordial onebased on kinship, lineage, neighbourhood, or religion. In industrialized societies, the prominent type is the associational onecreated to serve a goal. Associational groups may take different forms. When any interest group tries to influence government, it becomes a pressure group. Any interest group that is not a part of the government and does not itself seek to govern the country in its own name but does seek to influence that government for its own purposes is a pressure group. A political party differs from a pressure group in that a party has a structure and presents candidates for public office, whereas a pressure group seeks to influence both government and parties. But what begins as a pressure group may become a political party. The British Labour Party began in 1900 as a collection of trade unionists trying to secure the election of working-class MPs to Parliament; later it broadened its program and membership. Although all pressure groups seek out the influential agencies of government, they can only resort to influential organs that are accessible. In any system the influence of government organs varies. Strategy for an interest group thus consists in determining the influential organ that is accessible. Where the population is not divided ideologically or culturally, interest groups are secondaryindependent of government, politically neutral, possessed of specialized objectives, and distinct from parties. In Britain there are formal channels by which to influence the executive; groups influence parties by securing their members' nomination, by financial assistance, or by participating in party caucuses and promoting amendments at committee stage. In the United States, lobbying and appearing at hearings is important, but contact with the presidency and the media can be decisive. also called special-interest group, any aggregate of individuals that, on the basis of one or more shared concerns, makes claims upon groups or society in general in order to promote its objectives. Additional reading Gabriel A. Almond and James S. Coleman (eds.), The Politics of the Developing Areas (1960), provides a synoptic view of government in Latin America, Asia, and Africa that places special-interest groups in the setting of the politics of developing countries. Klaus von Beyme, Interessengruppen in der Demokratie, rev. new ed. (1980), classifies the types, strategies, and tactics of groups in the Western democratic states. Arthur F. Bentley, The Process of Government: A Study of Social Pressures (1908, reissued 1967), is the major theoretical source for all subsequent Western democratic writing, advocating the theory by which all political activity is reduced to group activity. Donald C. Blaisdell, American Democracy under Pressure (1957), ranks among the best of numerous surveys of the role of groups in American society. S.E. Finer, Anonymous Empire: A Study of the Lobby in Great Britain, 2nd ed., rev. and enlarged (1966), briefly analyzes the types, strategies, and tactics of groups in Britain. A.G. Jordan and J.J. Richardson, Government and Pressure Groups in Britain (1987), surveys interest-group theory and the role of these groups in Britain. Henry W. Ehrmann, Organized Business in France (1957, reprinted 1981), contains a highly detailed account of the typical methods of groups in France. Henry W. Ehrmann (ed.), Interest Groups on Four Continents (1958, reprinted 1983), a collection of papers and summaries of the discussions based on them, provides an excellent country-by-country account of the operation of groups. Jean Meynaud, Les Groupes de pression en France (1958), offers a detailed analysis of group activity in France. J.G. LaPalombara, Interest Groups in Italian Politics (1964), is a detailed analysis, much of it based on interview and behavioral data. Alec Barbrook and Christine Bolt, Power and Protest in American Life (1980), studies organizations acting for women, ethnic minorities, and the public interest.