An interest group (also called an advocacy group, lobbying group, pressure group (UK), or special interest) is a group, however loosely or tightly organized, doing advocacy: those determined to encourage or prevent changes in public policy without trying to be elected. This article belongs in one or more categories. ... Advocacy is the act of arguing on behalf of a particular issue, idea or person. ... Public policy is a course of action or inaction chosen by public authorities to address a problem. ... This article is about the political process. ...

Interest groups are set up to represent a particular group in society with a common interest. Interest groups attempt to influence Congress members’ decisions regarding public policy. The main function of interest groups is to provide information. They provide information to Congress members, executive agencies, and to constituents. There are three types of information acquired by interest groups. The first type of information that interest groups are concerned with acquiring is about the status and prospect of bills under active consideration. Interest groups also research the electoral implications of legislators’ support or opposition to that bill. Lastly, they analyze the political, economic, social, and environmental consequences of those policies.

Since members of Congress and constituents often do not know anything about a certain issue, interest groups have the advantage and are free to give them only the information they want them to have. This creates informational asymmetry and gives interest groups the advantage over other actors. Interest groups generally provide biased information, but members of Congress listen to interest groups because they have no one else to inform them of the issue. Also, if a member of Congress listens to an interest group, the interest group will provide information to their constituency that will help get them re-elected.

There are three general guidelines that must be met in order for a group to be considered an interest group. Interest groups must not appear on the election ballot or run for political office, their primary goal must be to attempt to influence legislative, executive, or judicial decisions, and they must be external to the institution of government. In addition to these guidelines, the two fundamental goals of interest groups are to gain access and influence. Access can be measured by the amount of time a member of Congress spends with members from an interest group. Interest groups can exert influence in the form of amicus curiae (friend of the court) briefs. By doing this, interest groups act as direct representatives or sponsors of litigation. Amicus curiae (plural amici curiae) is a legal Latin phrase, literally translated as friend of the court, that refers to a person or entity that is not a party to a case that volunteers to offer information on a point of law or some other aspect of the case to...

An example of how interest groups can effectively influence Congress is the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). The successful passage of this bill was largely due to the organized efforts of interest groups. This example illustrates important points about interest groups. First, interest groups choose their areas of participation carefully based on their resources. Secondly, interest groups acquire a great deal of experience and expertise on issues before appearing before committee hearings. The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (Public Law 103-3, enacted February 5, 1993) was one of the first major new laws enacted by United States President Bill Clinton in his first term, fulfilling a campaign promise. ...

Milbraith’s minimal effects hypothesis contends that interest groups don’t actually change the minds of Congress members because interest groups only appeal to members who already agree with them therefore they are not influencing anything. However, it can be argued that interest groups, although not changing the minds of members, do change the composition of Congress. Interest groups are more likely to give money to members who agree with them, which gives that member an increased likelihood of being elected. Interest groups are also much more likely to only give money to incumbents because they are already in a position to get things done, and giving money to someone who is not in office is too much of a gamble.

Types of groups

Interest groups are political organizations established to influence governmental action in a specific area of policy. This could be done by persuading legislators, working through a regulatory bureaucracy, engaging in legal proceedings, or other means. The Politics series Politics Portal This box:      This article is about the sociological concept. ...

There are many different types of interest groups that seek to influence policy outcomes. These groups are further divided into two categories: populist groups and elitist groups. Populist groups enlist a lot of members and exert a considerable amount of influence, whereas elitist groups are composed of a select few members, but still have a lot of influence. Many argue that interest groups are undemocratic because they have the ability to affect public policy, but they are not representative of the entire population. Populist groups actually encourage the democratic process by involving members of society, and allowing members of Congress to be subjected to different sides of the debate. Elite groups on the other hand can more effectively be argued as undemocratic since the members of these groups are chosen from a select pool of individuals. Corporations are elitist interest groups that try to influence politics largely through the use of PAC’s. Labor unions have become less influential in recent years because many jobs have been replaced by machines which have drastically decreased the unions’ memberships. Because membership is down and the labor unions still need money to function they raise their dues. This however only causes membership to drop even further. Citizen groups are populist groups that perform mostly grassroots activities, and are the most democratic. Examples of this type of group are the National Rifle Association (NRA) and the AARP. Intergovernmental groups have become the fastest growing type of interest group. As the name implies, these groups are from one part of the government that are responsible for lobbying another part of government. Their goal is normally to get more money. This type of interest group is unlikely to work when the two governments are from different political parties. Charitable/religious groups are not technically allowed to register as lobbyists or to directly support candidates due to the tax-exempt laws. However, charitable/ religious groups are very much so involved in supporting candidates and influencing people. These groups are required to stay non-partisan and focus on issue advocacy, and they use this to their advantage. They have ways of getting around these laws, and “hinting” at which candidate they support or endorse without directly saying it. This article concerns the National Rifle Association of the USA. For the UK organisation, see National Rifle Association of the United Kingdom The National Rifle Association, or NRA, is a non-profit group for the promotion of marksmanship, firearm safety, and the protection of hunting and personal protection firearm rights... Current logo for AARP, in use since January 2007 For the AppleTalk protocol developed by Apple Computer, see AppleTalk address resolution protocol (AARP). ...

Examples include:

• a corporation lobbying to win a specific government contract, often through a lobbying firm or other front;
• an employers' organization or trade association representing the interests of an entire industry, for instance seeking favorable tax policy or regulation;
• groups representing various demographic sectors of society, such as:
  • trade unions,
  • senior citizens,
  • minorities
  • persons with disabilities or
  • members of the bureaucracy itself;
• groups specifically set up to engage in single-issue politics on one issue only;
• think tanks with a particular ideological or economic theory guiding their analysis.

There is a lively debate amongst political scientists as to what exactly constitutes a legitimate interest group. Some hold that only groups with members (for instance, Common Cause or the National Rifle Association) are interest groups. For other uses, see Corporation (disambiguation). ... This article is about the political effort. ... An employers organization, employers association or employers federation is an association of employers. ... An industry trade group is generally a public relations organization funded, founded and formed by corporations that operate in a specific industry. ... Tax policy is the study of the best way to collect a tax for government revenue, a positive question as well as the study what what type of tax is best from theories of fairness, efficiency and utility (a normative question). ... A trade union or labor union is an organization of workers. ... Old age consists of ages nearing the average lifespan of human beings, and thus the end of the human life cycle. ... In sociology and in voting theory, a minority is a sub-group that is outnumbered by persons who do not belong to it. ... Disabilities are limitations in activity and/or functioning that are attributable to permanent medical conditions in physical, mental, emotional, and/or sensory domains and, significantly, are also due to societal responses to those limitations. ... The Politics series Politics Portal This box:      This article is about the sociological concept. ... Single-issue politics involves political campaigning or political support based on one essential policy area or idea. ... This article is about the institution. ... See also: Political Science Notable political scientists Kenneth Arrow - Nobel Memorial Prize winning economist who published influential paper on his widely cited Arrows Impossibility Theorem Robert Axelrod Duncan Black - Responsible for unearthing the work of many early political scientists, including Charles Dodgson Jean-Charles de Borda - 18th century mathematician... Common Cause is a U.S. nonpartisan lobbying group. ... This article concerns the National Rifle Association of the USA. For the UK organisation, see National Rifle Association of the United Kingdom The National Rifle Association, or NRA, is a non-profit group for the promotion of marksmanship, firearm safety, and the protection of hunting and personal protection firearm rights...

Others feel that interest groups are any non-government groups that try to affect policy, such as the National Space Society or the Planetary Society. Some people define it even more broadly, to include individual corporations, or even government agencies. Look up policy in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... National Space Society logo The National Space Society (NSS) is an international nonprofit 501(c)(3), educational, and scientific organization specializing in space advocacy. ... This article is in need of attention. ...

Sometimes "interest groups" are used to refer to groups within society, especially those who are believed to have similar political opinions on an issue or group of issues (e.g. seniors, the poor, etc.) who are not necessarily part of an organized group.

Goals of groups

Human-protective

Human-protective groups represent only one segment of society, such as professional bodies, veterans' organizations and trade unions. Membership in such groups is often restricted to members of the represented social segment. This type of group can also be referred to as sectional pressure groups. A profession is an occupation, vocation or career where specialized knowledge of a subject, field, or science is applied. ... This is a list of veterans organizations. ... A trade union or labor union is an organization of workers. ...

Promotional

Promotional groups promote some cause much greater than protection of specific humans. They claim to represent the common interests of mankind, non-specific rights of all humans, or potentially even all life on Earth. Such groups include Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth and Worldwide Fund for Nature. These ecological groups believe that their cause is for the mutual benefit of all the people on the planet. Their membership is open for people of all ages, so that they are much larger than protective groups. In the case of groups set up to promote specifically non-human causes, they can become extremely large: the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds is the largest advocacy group in Europe with nearly one million members—more than the number of members in all three UK national political parties together. Greenpeace protest against Esso / Exxon Mobil. ... Friends of the Earth is an international network of environmental organizations in 70 countries. ... Note: After losing a court case in 2002 on the use of the initials WWF, the organization previously known as the World Wrestling Federation has rebranded itself as World Wrestling Entertainment, or WWE. WWF - The Conservation Organization was formerly known as World Wildlife Fund and Worldwide Fund for Nature. ... The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is Europes largest wildlife conservation charity. ...

Mixed

Mixed groups are interest groups that fall under the categories of both human-protective and promotional groups at the same time. Sometimes it is hard to distinguish between these two classes, because the actions of a group of one class may be characteristic of the other class. For example, the British Medical Association (BMA) supports the action against smoking, which is of general benefit to the wider population, not just medics. // The British Medical Association (BMA) is the professional association and registered trade union for doctors in the United Kingdom. ...

Effectiveness compared to direct action

One study by Jon Agnone, a sociologist at the University of Washington, in 2004 compared the number of bills passed between 1960 and 1994 by the U.S. Congress with tactics used by "green" groups within the same year. The study showed that each protest raised the number of pro-environment bills passed by 2.2%, but that neither efforts at conventional lobbying on Capitol Hill nor the state of public opinion made any difference. The University of Washington, founded in 1861, is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1994 (MCMXCIV) The year 1994 was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by the United Nations. ... The Congress of the United States is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States of America. ... Demonstrators march in the street while protesting the World Bank and International Monetary Fund on April 16, 2005. ... Capitol Hill is the name of a district in the following cities: Capitol Hill, Denver, Colorado Capitol Hill, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Capitol Hill, Seattle, Washington Capitol Hill, Washington, DC It is also a common nickname for the United States Congress and the politicians who serve it (e. ...

The study concluded that direct action, like chaining oneself to a bulldozer or throwing paint over company executives, is more likely to influence environmental policy than talking to politicians. Agnone presented his results to the American Sociological Association on August 17, 2004 at their meeting in San Francisco. For the Canadian urban guerrilla group Direct Action, see Squamish Five. ... The American Sociological Association (ASA), founded in 1905, is a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the discipline and profession of sociology by serving sociologists in their work and promoting their contributions. ... is the 229th day of the year (230th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ...

See also

• Lobbying
• Pluralism
• Corporatism