Reminders!! No class next Tuesday...please conceal your disappointment! No tutorials next week – TA’s will hold office hours instead! if you have questions for your TA, make sure to contact them by Friday, March 14 th !!!

Political Parties Interest Aggregation Interest Representation March 6th

Political Parties vs. Interest Groups interest groups strive to influence political outcomes political parties strive to become the governing party both represent political interests  political parties also aggregate interests  in doing so, political parties act to filter of interests

Type of Political Parties basis of organization  electoral-professional parties vs. mass parties basis of electoral competition  pragmatic parties (brokerage parties)  ideological-programmatic parties  interest parties

Ideological/Programmatic Parties organized around social cleavages  class  religion  ethnicity  region traditional conceptions of ideology  left vs. right

The Ideological Spectrum The Left -- Socialist The Right -- Conservative government regulation of the economygovernment regulation of the economy policies to help disadvantaged groupspolicies to help disadvantaged groups policies to redistribute incomepolicies to redistribute income greater reliance on the marketgreater reliance on the market fewer government regulationsfewer government regulations no special treatment for special interest groupsno special treatment for special interest groups lower taxeslower taxes More Gov’t Less Gov’t

General Trends -- Political Parties the rise of pragmatism

The Ideological Spectrum The Rise of Pragmatism The Left -- Socialist The Right -- Conservative Tony Blair (Britain) New Labour Bill Clinton (US) New Democrats George W. Bush (US) Compassionate Conservatism

General Trends -- Political Parties single member plurality systems encourage pragmatic parties; PR promotes ideological/interest parties the rise of pragmatism  parties increasingly competing to occupy the centre of the political spectrum  reasons?  success of pragmatic parties has been self-reinforcing  the fall of communism  affluence of western industrialized societies

Political Parties & Democracy mass parties vs. electoral- professional parties  mass parties encourage greater participation in politics by the public  majoritarian democrats  electoral-professional parties  elite democrats

Political Parties & Democracy ideological/interest parties vs. pragmatic parties  ideological/interest parties  gives clear electoral choices help make elections meaningful encourages greater mass participation  majoritarian democrats  pragmatic parties  depend on party elites (to broker deals among various interests)  elections differences between parties are limited electoral choice is really about best management team  elite democrats

Political Parties & Democracy liberal democrats  crucial point is that individuals remain free to form political parties (and contest elections) free from state interference

Interest Groups Interest Representation

Interest Groups organizations whose members act together to influence gov’t policy on specific issues, without contesting elections (different from parties!)  how do they influence -- lobbying play an important role in representing citizen demands to gov’t

Determinants of Interest Group Influence: size (membership) and cohesion information, expertise leadership, level of organization financial resources high-status (celebrity) membership values, goals, tactics, issue -- compatible with broader public opinion?  ability to sway public opinion

Determinants of Influence - - Institutionalization institutionalization -- degree to which a group has become an acknowledged actor in/part of the political process levels of institutionalization institutional/associational/anomic danger for group -- co-optation to become institutionalized, interest groups must adopt norms and behaviours inside the broader governing consensus must be more concerned with preserving priveleged position in the long-term than winning on certain issues danger for government – capture government relies on group to the point that it loses it ability to act autonomously in that issue area

What Interest Groups Do -- Lobbying tactics  quiet consultations  lobbying elected officials  lobbying bureaucratic officials  mobilizing public opinion  media campaigns  public demonstrations the paradox of interest group influence  the most powerful interest groups are often the most quiet!

Interest Groups and Democracy liberal democracy  pluralism  as long as individuals are free to form interest groups, interest group competition represents interests in society  groups do not have to be equal; groups have to have equal opportunity to compete

Interest Groups and Democracy majoritarian democratic critique of interest group pluralism  interest group politics is grossly uneven  well-financed, privileged interests hold the advantage  the paradox of interest group influence  the strongest interest groups (e.g. economic interests) do not have to lobby in order to have influence  interest group influence displaces the influence of the general public  special interest groups

Interest Groups and Democracy elite democracy  interest group competition and lobbying (even if grossly uneven) is fine so long as...  political elites retain the power to make overall decisions in the general welfare the summation of all interest group demands does not equal the general welfare

Reminders!! No class next Tuesday...please conceal your disappointment! No tutorials next week – TA’s will hold office hours instead! if you have questions for your TA, make sure to contact them by Friday, March 14 th !!!