1. Interest articulation and aggregation

2. How can a common citizen participate in government?
Voting—most frequent
Informal group/collective action (common interest)
Direct contact with policymaker on personal matter
Direct contact with policymaker on policy issue
Protest activity
Political consumerism
How can a common citizen participate in government?

3. America stands out for relatively low levels of national voting participation
Americans are much more likely to try and discuss politics, or work for a party or candidate
Voter participation

4. Protests Most visible form of citizen action
Often tied to political consumerism
More than 1/5 Americans and Europeans have at some time participated in a legal demonstration
Russian protest participation went from less than 4% during USSR, to 25% by late 90s.
Protests

5. Nearly 1/3 of Americans participates in citizen interest groups
This activity also high in Mexico
Regulated in China
Citizen groups attempting to impact the government’s policy making
Protesting
Lobbying
Interest groups

6. Why do you think the most likely to be politically active are the high status individuals in EVERY culture?

8. Interest groups Four types (more details coming on each)
Anomic
Nonassociational
Institutional
Associational
Make up civil society (Free of state control!)
Also known as social capital
capacity building…
Interest groups

9. Interest groups: Anomic
spontaneous groups that react to a certain event
Short lived
Frequency varies by country & culture
Interest groups: Anomic

10. Interest group: non- associational
Non-associational groups
activity is episodic
usually not well organized
Based on common interests and identities or personal relationships
Have more continuity than anomic groups.
Collective action problem—who will organize?
Free riders (also get rewards)
Interest group: non- associational

11. Interest group: institutional http://www.newpaltz.k12.ny.us/domain/881
Institutional groups
Formal groups
Have other political or social functions as well
In industrial democracies, can be within bureaucracy
US-Department of Defense
US-Department of Agriculture
Italy-Roman Catholic Church
Iran-fundamentalist clergy urge voting behavior
play role in authoritarian regimes as well
Interest group: institutional

12. Interest group: Associational
Associational groups
Formed explicitly to represent the interests of a particular group
Have procedures for formulating interests
Affect the development of other groups
Subset that believe they have common ideology or policy goal
Interest group: Associational

13. Interest group systems—what is the US? Your country of study?
Pluralist
Multiple groups
Participation voluntary
Loose or decentralized structures
Clear separation between group and government
Democratic corporatist
Single peak association
Membership often compulsory or universal
Centrally organized
Systematically involved in policy making
Controlled
Single group for each sector
Membership compulsory
Each group hierarchical
Groups controlled by the government
Interest group systems—what is the US? Your country of study?