THE INTEREST GROUP UNIVERSE| 231The Interest Group Universe
Interest groups are organizations that seek to infl uence government policy by
helping to elect candidates who support the organizations’ policy goals and by
lobbying elected offi cials and bureaucrats. Lobbying involves persuasion—using
reports, protests, informal meetings, or other techniques to convince an elected
offi cial or bureaucrat to help enact a law, craft a regulation, or do something else
that a group wants. The members of an interest group can be individual citizens,
local governments, businesses, foundations or nonprofi t organizations, churches,
or virtually any other entity. An interest group’s employees or members may lobby
on the group’s behalf, or a group may hire a lobbyist or lobbying fi rm to do the work
for it. Nuts and Bolts 8.1 gives some examples of the types of interest groups found
in contemporary American politics.
Interest groups a nd politica l pa r ties both hope to cha nge what government does,
but there are three critical diff erences between these types of organizations. First,
political parties focus on running candidates for offi ce and coordinating the activi-
ties of elected offi cials. Some interest groups do these things, but they do not have an
offi cial position on electoral ballots to off er their candidates. Moreover, many inter-
est groups do not get involved in elections at all. Second, the major political parties
hold certain legal advantages over even the largest interest groups when it comes to
infl uencing policy (one such advantage is having guaranteed positions on electoral
ballots). Third, the elected members of political parties have a direct infl uence over
government activity: they propose, debate, and vote on policies. In contrast, inter-
est groups have an indirect infl uence: they must either persuade elected offi cials to
support their point of view or help elect candidates who already share their goals.
Sometimes interest groups are primarily political organizations. One such group
is Public Citizen, which conducts research projects, lobbies legislators and bureau-
crats, and tries to rally public opinion on a range of environmental, health, and energy
issues. Usually, though, lobbying is only one part of what an organization does. The
NR A, for example, endorses candidates, contributes to campaigns, and lobbies
elected offi cials; but it also runs gun safety classes, holds competitions, and sells
hardware to its members. In other cases, interest group activity is almost hidden
within an organization. For example, most drivers know the Automobile Association
of America (A A A) as a provider of emergency roadside service and maps, but A A A is
also an interest group that lobbies for increased funding for highways
and less funding for mass transit.
As these descriptions suggest, interest groups and lobbying are
ubiquitous in A merica n politics. Ma ny orga nizations have lobby ing
operations or hire lobbyists to work on their behalf. You may think
that you don’t belong to a group that lobbies the federal government,
but the odds are that you do.
Organizational Structures
Interest groups diff er in how they are organized—whether the group
is one unitary body, or made up of many smaller, local groups. How a
group is organized makes a diff erence for the kinds of lobbying tactics
it can use, as well as how decisions are made about what to lobby for.
interest group An organization
of people who share common politi-
cal interests and aim to infl uence
public policy by electioneering and
lobbying.
lobbying Efforts to infl uence
public policy through contact with
public offi cials on behalf of an inter-
est group.DEFINE INTEREST GROUPS
AND DESCRIBE THE
CHARACTERISTICS OF
DIFFERENT TYPES OF
GROUPSMORE THAN 4 MILLION INDIVIDUALS
belong to the National Rifl e
Association, one of the most
powerful interest groups in
America. At their national
convention, shown here, members
have the opportunity to visit a gun
show.