⇒ An unofficial actors is someone whose participation in the creation of policy is not specified in the Constitution

• However, the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects the freedom of speech, religion and the press. It also protects the right to peaceful protest and to petition the government.
• In other words, the First Amendment allows individuals to interact with the political bodies freely and with Constitutional protection – this is of fundamental importance in the US democratic system

⇒ Individuals can participate in public policy through voting and communicating with those that represent them

• However lower levels of political participation (including low levels of voter turnout at elections) reflect the trend that people feel increasingly alienated and out-of-touch with the political system

⇒ It is possible to mobilise (i.e. bring together) people to get involved in political activity

• In other words, political mobilisation is a process by which a group goes from being a passive collection of individuals to an active participant in public life
• Such participation can include protest, lobbying, and other forms of expression in response to some problem/issue e.g. mobilisation occurred in response to the health care reforms in 2009

⇒ Mobilisation generally happens when it affects the public in a very personal way e.g. when it threatens – or has the appearance of threatening – their very way of living

⇒ Due to the range of issues that different people mobilise behind (each issue may only mobilise a few thousand or hundred people) it is difficult to gauge what the general ‘public opinion’ is and what would be in the public interest

• Although all public policy tries to appeal to the public interest, there are clearly problems in trying to do this
• Without adequately determining what the ‘public opinion’ is, how can any representative or government really act in the public interest?

⇒ An interest group is a group of people that seeks to influence public policy on the basis of a particular common interest or concern.

• All interest groups share a desire to affect government policy to benefit themselves or their causes.
• Public interest groups promote issues of general public concern (e.g., environmental protection, human rights, and consumer rights)
• Groups that seek to influence public policy for the specific and often exclusive benefit of their members or of people with similar interests are known as private interest groups

⇒ The number of interest groups has grown significantly since the 1960s

• The creation of an interest group is fairly straight-forward (in that legally and politically, there are few barriers)
• However, interest groups often struggle to get the resources and money to mobilise people effectively and efficiently
• Also, creating a group does not necessarily mean anyone will listen to you – some groups will be more powerful than others
• Those groups that can channel information to legislators and bureaucrats more seamlessly often have more power in shaping public policy. In other words, good communication with representatives is key to a successful interest group
• Interest groups can also struggle to maintain membership and mobilise people if there are few incentives to get involved

⇒ A peak association is an interest group whose members are businesses or other organizations rather than individuals.

• They tend to be the most powerful and influential interest groups when it comes to shaping public policy e.g. National Association of Manufacturers

⇒ Social movements are purposeful, organized groups striving to work toward a common goal. These groups might be attempting to create change (Occupy Wall Street, Arab Spring), to resist change (anti-globalization movement), or to provide a political voice to those otherwise disenfranchised (civil rights movements).

⇒ Their goals are broader than an interest, which means they tend to mobilise people from a range of groups and backgrounds

⇒ For example, the gay and lesbian rights movement is an example of a social movement that has worked to change public policy that operates contrary to their goals of non discrimination based on sexual orientation

• Liberal social movements are more common than conservative social moments, although conservative social movements do exist e.g. social movements against abortion and on economic regulation

⇒ There are institutional interest groups and membership groups

• Institutional interest groups are individuals/organisations that represent other organisations, with agendas that fit the needs of the organisations they serve e.g. the US Chambers of Commerce is an institutional interest group which represents the wants of American businesses
• Membership interest groups are made up of Americans who join because they feel strongly on an issue

⇒ There is also a distinction to be made between economic and public interest groups

• Economic group seek some sort of economic advantage for their members (or at least defend the economic interests of members) and are extremely common e.g. the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America
• Public interest groups are groups that pursue goals that would benefit the public more generally – so they tend to have a broader objective

⇒ Non-members of public interest groups are said to be ‘free riders’ as they benefit from the work they do without doing anything to help

• There are, however, some interest groups that do not fit neatly into either category e.g. religious interest groups which simple promote ideological values

⇒ One of the main activities undertaken by interest groups is lobbying

• In short, lobbying involves influencing politicians in the legislative process or the executive to create certain pieces of legislation or loosen regulation

⇒ Lobbying is often viewed negatively – the public see it as a little shady and think it involves bribery and other exchanges of cash to get what they want

• This looks even more the case when viewing campaign contributions – people think that individuals/groups give money to help fund someone’s political campaign so they have quicker, direct access to them in the future

⇒ Despite its negative views, lobbying is important in that it helps the legislature and executive receive important information that they may not know or be able to receive otherwise

Strategies of social movements

⇒ Some social movements (like the Civil Rights movements) struggled to get government to listen to their messages, so they utilised various strategies to get their message heard…

⇒ Mass mobilisation: bringing thousands of people together to support the movement e.g. the March on Washington where Marting Luther King gave his ‘I have a dream’ speech

⇒ Protests: a protest can include a march, a sit-in, or some other way of demonstrating opposition to policy. Even in small numbers a protest can be effective at triggering debate e.g. when California adopted Proposition 8, which sought to make homosexual marriage illegal

⇒ Litigation: test cases can be used to change policy. For example, pro-abortion groups brought the suit in Roe v Wade to eliminate abortion restrictions

• Using litigation is usually the last thing a social movement will try to get attention
• Choosing whether or not to use litigation is an example of venue shopping - venue shopping refers to the activities of groups who seek out a decision setting (such as court here) where they can air their grievances with current policy and present alternative policy proposals

⇒ Astroturf groups are defined as apparently grassroots-based citizen groups or coalitions that are primarily conceived, created and/or funded by corporations, industry trade associations, political interests or public relations firms

⇒ Parties provide an indication to voters as to what their stance should be on particular matters

• For example, if you affiliate with the Republican party they will support policy that limits ‘big’ government, whereas Democrats will want policy that is fair and equal for all

⇒ Political parties also provide a rough way of transmitting political preferences from the electorate to the elected branches

⇒ Parties also craft their policy ideas which is then used to gain support from voters and shape legislation e.g. in the 1990s the Republican party used a ‘Contract with America’ that pledged to enact 10 specific bills within the first 100 days of the 104th Congress

⇒ Parties are also essential to the organisation of the legislative branch, translating the electoral preferences to the structure of the House and Senate

⇒ Think tanks are public policy research institutes that seek to play a key role in making and influencing global, regional and national policy. While each think tank serves a specific purpose, they all share a common vision to improve their respective spectrums, as well as being sources of new ideas and research.

• An example of a think tank is the Cato institute, which seeks to promote an American public policy based on individual liberty, limited government, free markets and peaceful international relations.

⇒ There has been a distinct rise of more openly ideological think tanks e.g. the Heritage Foundation is openly conservative