Special Interest Groups and Politics

Interest Groups and Politics

Special interest groups are organizations whose members are organized, mobilized and share specific agendas and objectives (Dincer, 2012). They work to gain favor with politicians and legislative officials in order to influence governmental policy. Interest groups are very common in the United States (Thurber, 2010). They operate very differently from political parties that ultimately try to gain control of the government (Naoi & Krauss, 2009). They use a variety of tactics, including employing lobbyists, to push their interests.

Special interest groups tend to be an outgrowth of periods of transformation in the country (Ben-Bassat, 2011). For instance, in the 1770s special interest groups were basically independence groups who advocated fiercely for liberation from the British. In the 1830s and 1840s, there were many religious and anti-slavery interest groups such as the Quakers. The 1860s saw the rise of craft unions, with...
[ View Full Essay]