Types and Functions of Pressure groups

Gagan Rajpurohit Roll no: 852

INTRODUCTION
A pressure group can be escribe as an organise group that oes not put up can i ates !or election" but see#s to in!luence go$ern%ent polic& or legislation' The& can also be escribe as (interest groups(" (lobb& groups( or (protest groups(' )o%e people a$oi using the ter% (pressure group( as it can ina $ertentl& be interprete as %eaning the groups use actual pressure to achie$e their ai%s" *hich oes not necessaril& happen' In +ritain" the nu%ber o! political parties is $er& s%all" *hen as the nu%ber o! pressure groups runs into thousan s, as the %e%bership o! political parties has !allen" that o! pressure groups has increase

Types of pressure groups

-ressure groups can be classi!ie as !ollo*s: .-ri%ar& pressure groups an secon ar& pressure groups .)ectional pressure groups /so%eti%es calle interest groups or protecti$e groups0 an cause or pro%otional pressure groups''''an h&bri groups .Insi er pressure groups an outsi er pressure groups .-ea# or u%brella organisations .1ocal" national an international pressure groups .-er%anent an te%porar& pressure groups

Primary pressure groups and secondary pressure groups

2-ri%ar& pressure groups are organisations *hich in$ol$e the%sel$es in political acti$ities esigne to in!luence public polic& *hereas secon ar& pressure groups engage %ainl& in non3 political acti$it& an in$ol$e the%sel$es in actual political processes onl& rarel&' 45a%ples o! pri%ar& pressure groups inclu e organisations such as the 4lectoral Re!or% )ociet& an Charter 88 *hereas churches an %an& /but not all0 charities *oul be seen as %ainl& secon ar& pressure groups' Charities2 %a& !ace the threat o! a loss o! charitable status i! their objecti$es are seen as e5cessi$el& political' 6o*e$er this classi!icator& s&ste% %ust be use *ith care2 because o! the isputes aroun the e!initions o! 7political7 an 7non3political7 acti$ities' 8or e5a%ple tra e unions2 an business pressure groups are2 o!ten in$ol$e in ob$iousl& political negotiations *ith go$ern%ent but their negotiations *ith each other an *ith in i$i ual e%plo&ers o$er *ages" *or#ing con itions an potential re un ancies2 %a& also be regar e as 7political7 in so%e senses *hich suggests that these2 pressure groups too shoul be regar e as pri%ar& pressure groups'2

Sectional pressure groups and cause or promotional pressure groups....and hybrid groups

)ectional groups ai% to protect the interests o! their %e%bers' 8or e5a%ple" Tra e Unions see# to increase the earnings an i%pro$e the li$ing stan ar s o! their %e%bers" *hile the Con!e eration o! +ritish In ustr& 9the C+I: ai%s to in!luence the go$ern%ent to a opt policies such as the re uction in business ta5ation or increase go$ern%ent grants to in ustr& *hich are li#el& to i%pro$e the prospects !or pri$ate in ustr& *ithin the econo%&'2 ;e%bership o!2 sectional pressure groups is con!ine to those *ho are personall& in$ol$e in the sector o! acti$it& *hich the pressure groups represent: thus !or e5a%ple the tra e union %o$e%ent represents onl& tra e unionists an speci!ic tra e unions represent onl& the tra e union %e%bers e%plo&e in speci!ic in ustries or tra es an pro!essional associations such as the +ritish ;e ical Association an the Ro&al College o! Nursing represent onl& octors an nurses respecti$el&'

-ro%otional or Cause groups o not ai% to protect the interests o! their %e%bers but to a $ance causes that their %e%bers consi er to be i%portant' 45a%ples o! -ro%otional or Cause groups inclu e )helter" CND" A%nest& International an the Chil -o$ert& Action Group' ;e%bership o! pro%otional or cause groups is open to an& in i$i uals *ho *ish to i enti!& *ith the causes a $ance b& particular groups' This is a use!ul istinction is use!ul but so%e groups %a& be seen as partl& )ectional an partl& Cause groups in that" !or e5a%ple" the Tra e Unions ha$e in the past supporte a *i e $ariet& o! causes such as the en ing o! Aparthei in )outh A!rica an " in so%e cases" unilateral nuclear isar%a%ent as *ell as tr&ing to protect the li$ing stan ar s o! their %e%bers' 2 .A particular pressure group beco%es a 2hybrid groups2i! it contains so%e characteristics o! both sectional an pro%otional<cause groups'

Insider pressure groups and outsider pressure groups

Insi er pressure groups are those groups *hich are %ost li#el& to be consulte regularl& b& go$ern%ents an pressure groups are %ost

li#el& to achie$e Insi er group status i! the& can e%onstrate that the& possess at least so%e o! the !ollo*ing !eatures'

6igh %e%bership an high %e%bership ensit& suggesting that a pressure group represents a large nu%ber an proportion o! people concerne about a particular issue' ;e%bership ensit& is the ratio o! actual %e%bers to potential %e%bers' The co%patibilit& o! its o*n objecti$es *ith the objecti$es o! go$ern%ent an *ith public opinion'' The *illingness to operate through the 7nor%al political channels7 rather than to engage in high pro!ile e%onstrations or irect action' The capacit& to pro$i e reliable " accurate in!or%ation *hich %ight other*ise be una$ailable an *hich !acilitates go$ern%ent ecision %a#ing' A signi!icant role in the legiti%ation an <or i%ple%entation o! go$ern%ent policies' 4cono%ic le$erage an $eto po*er' Go$ern%ents cannot ignore business interests since go$ern%ent success epen s in %an& *a&s upon the e5istence o! a strong econo%& an tra e unions ha$e also been able to e5ercise $eto po*er in the past although less so no*a a&s'

Outsider groups are essentially the reverse of Insider groups. Their membership or membership density may often [but not always] be relatively small as in the case of ALF and !A. Their ob"ectives and#or methods may be unpopular with the general public and seen by government as unacceptable and non$legitimate. They are not seen by governments as valuable sources of information and advice% they are unli&ely to be involved in the legitimation and#or implementation of government policies% and they possess little or economic leverage or veto power. Outsider groups may actively prefer outsider status because they themselves recognise that their own ob"ectives are never li&ely to be shared by governments and believe that closer lin&s with government will result only in the moderation of the groups' fundamental ob"ectives. Instead they choose to involve themselves in various forms of direct action in the hope of increasing mass public support which( they hope( will lead eventually to fundamental changes in government policy.

Peak or umbrella organisations

Peak or umbrella organisations are organisations which represent the collective interests of a number of similar pressure groups. For example most Trade Unions are affiliated to the TUC (Trade Union Congress) which aims to further the aims of the union movement b! devising economic and social policies designed to improve the living standards of their members and aiming to secure acceptance of these policies b! "overnment . "eneral business interests are also represented b! peak or umbrella organisations such as the Confederation of #ritish $ndustr! % the $nstitute of &irectors and the #ritish Chambers of Commerce while there are also organisations often known as 'mplo!ers( Federations which can be regarded as peak organisations in the sense that the! speak for most companies within a given industr! or trade. )ne would normall! expect peak business organisations to have closer relationships with Conservative governments but the! do of course seek influence with whatever political part! is in government and relationships with recent *abour governments ma! have been easier due to the more pro+ business attitudes adopted b! *abour in the #lair+ #rown era while relationships between the C#$ and the Coalition government have not necessaril! been entirel! harmonious as is shown in this recent report on the C#$ from the ##C.

Local, national and international pressure groups

Pressure groups ma! concern themselves primaril! with local% national or international issues and negotiation or with a combination of all three t!pes of activit!. , small local pressure group ma!% for example% seek to influence local council decisions on a variet! of specificall! local issues such as decisions whether to license the building of new supermarket branches% to permit the opening of new music venues %r to introduce speeding restrictions and-or .speed bumps. in roads close to schools or to extent rec!cling arrangements. Conversel! other pressure groups ma! operate at local and-or national and-or international levels. , large national trade union ma! sometimes be involved in negotiations affecting wages or working conditions in one particular firm but at other times ma! be obliged to negotiate with a national emplo!er(s association and national government and-or with the political institutions of the 'U and with multinational corporations. #usiness pressure groups and large environmental pressure groups ma! similarl! be involved at various times in negotiations at local% national and international levels.

Permanent and temporary pressure groups including episodic groups and fire brigade groups.

/hereas some pressure groups are likel! to be permanent because the! have been formed to address issues which are seen as likel! to dominate the political agenda for the foreseeable future others are formed to address issues which are essentiall! temporar!. Thus it is to be expected that there will alwa!s be economic issues in a capitalist societ! which are perceived differentl! b! emplo!ees and emplo!ers so that both trade unions and business pressure groups are likel! to be permanent fixtures on the political landscape. 0imilar conclusions appl! to pressure groups such as "reenpeace and Friends of the 'arth and )xfam% ,ction ,id related organisations now that environmental issues and world povert! occup! a more permanent position on the political agenda. 1owever even in relation to pressure groups regarded as permanent there ma! be important organisational changes in recent !ears there have been union mergers as unions attempted to protect their bargaining power in response to the general decline in trade union membership.

Other pressure groups are very li&ely to be temporary because they have been set up to address essentially temporary issues such as a hospital or school closure or a road building scheme or a building pro"ect on a green field site. Once final decisions have actually been ta&en for or against these particular initiatives the pressure group loses its reason for e)istence. In their analyses of temporary pressure groups theorists also sometimes distinguish between episodic groups and fire brigade groups. *pisodic groups are groups which have been formed for non$political purposes but which may involve themselves in political +uestions if they feel that their interests are threatened [e.g. the local amateur soccer leagues may register their opposition to proposals to sell off playing fields and then return to their usual non$political stance once this ,episode, has been resolved. Fire brigade groups are groups which are set up in response to a particular political issue and which may disappear completely once the issue has been resolved because they no longer have any reason to e)ist although the group might continue if( for e)ample( some of its members decide to support similar campaigns possibly in nearby areas .

Functions of pressure groups

-..ressure groups aim to inform and educate both their members and the overall population about political issues. /. They provide an organised channel through which individuals may participate in the political process and see& to influence policies of local government (devolved assemblies( national government( *uropean political institutions and wider international institutions such as the 01. Increasingly also some pressure groups see& to influence the activities of multinational corporations. 2.3hereas political parties represent voters' views over a wide range of political issues( pressure groups can represent individuals' views on particular issues such as animal rights or poverty. 4..ressure groups serve as a pool of talent for political recruitment in that many party politicians begin their careers as pressure group activists. 5..ressure groups may see& to raise controversial issues and to support minorities which political parties neglect for fear of electoral unpopularity. Thus for e)ample pressure groups were more active than political parties in early campaigns in support of gay rights although all main political parties are nowadays committed to the protection of gay rights.

='-ressure groups pro$i e opportunities !or in i$i uals to in!luence go$ern%ent polic& bet*een elections *hich ob$iousl& strengthens the o$erall e%ocratic process'2 >'-ressure groups scrutinise the acti$ities o! go$ern%ent an publicise cases o! go$ern%ent %is%anage%ent an go$ern%ent acti$ities *hich %a& be 2 7ultra $ires7 /i'e' actions *hich e5cee the po*ers grante in current legislation'0 The& there!ore pro$i e an i%portant %echanis% !or the li%itation o! e5cessi$e e5ecuti$e po*er ' 8'-ressure groups %a& pro$i e go$ern%ents *ith use!ul in!or%ation although "at the sa%e ti%e" a go$ern%ent *ill *ish to ta#e account o! possible bias in this in!or%ation' ?'Once polic& ecisions ha$e been arri$e at !ollo*ing negotiation bet*een go$ern%ent an rele$ant pressure groups lea ers" the lea ers %a& then encourage their %e%bers to accept these ecisions" as *hen Tra e Union lea ers in the corporatist @?>As encourage their %e%bers to accept relati$el& lo* pa& increases in e5change !or go$ern%ent pro%ises to protect e%plo&%ent an to increase the scope o! the Bel!are )tate' These strategies *ere not especiall& success!ul but it is clear that the& coul not ha$e been e$ise *ithout the support o! the tra e union %o$e%ent'

Thank You.