Interest Group Membership And Group Dynamics Erasmus University Rotter

Research output: Chapter/Conference proceeding › Chapter › Academic Research output: Chapter/Conference proceeding › Chapter › Academic T1 - Interest Group Membership and Group Dynamics N1 - It is an e-book, there won’t be hard copies of the volume (at least for now). UR - https://link-springer-com.eur.idm.oclc.org/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-3-030-13895-0_120-1 This chapter describes the different types of members interest groups aggregate, how they are involved in the group, and their influence within the organization.

The chapter opens with a brief reflection on the intermediary role of membership-based interest groups, who are often seen as transmission belts that relay the preferences of their members to policy-making processes. Subsequently, different types of members based on their nature (i.e., individuals, firms, institutions, and groups or associations), and the societal interests they represent (i.e., sectional, or cause) are discussed. In doing so, this entry also examines the different collective action problems experienced by interest groups and the consequences for the involvement and influence of members within the group. The main argument is that the internal logics that characterize member involvement in interest groups that aggregate individuals are significantly different when the members of groups are... This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access. Ahrne, G., & Brunsson, N.

(2008). Meta-organizations. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing Limited. Berry, J. M. (1977).

Lobbying for the people. The political behavior of public interest groups. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Binderkrantz, A. S. (2009).

Membership recruitment and internal democracy in interest groups: Do group–membership relations vary between group types? West European Politics, 32(3), 657–678. Our research integrity and auditing teams lead the rigorous process that protects the quality of the scientific record This chapter describes the different types of members interest groups aggregate, how they are involved in the group, and their influence within the organization Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

T1 - The representative capacity of interest groups: explaining how issue features shape membership involvement when establishing policy positions N1 - Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press. N2 - Interest groups are key intermediary actors that communicate societal interests and preferences to public officials. Given public officials’ reliance on interest groups’ input in public policy processes, it is essential to understand how groups establish policy positions and assess the democratic nature of this process. Focusing on the leadership perspective, this article examines how interest groups involve their membership base in the process of defining their policy positions.

The article relies on qualitative data from interviews with the leaders of interest groups active at the EU level and the statutes of these organizations. The findings show that the nature of policy issues under discussion and unequal resources of members lead to biased membership involvement in policy position-taking. While leaders are aware of these dynamics, their efforts to mitigate unequal participation seem limited, which raises questions about the representative potential of interest groups and the legitimacy of their policy claims. Published online by Cambridge University Press: 14 September 2023 Interest groups are key intermediary actors that communicate societal interests and preferences to public officials. Given public officials’ reliance on interest groups’ input in public policy processes, it is essential to understand how groups establish policy positions and assess the democratic nature of this process.

Focusing on the leadership perspective, this article examines how interest groups involve their membership base in the process of defining their policy positions. The article relies on qualitative data from interviews with the leaders of interest groups active at the EU level and the statutes of these organizations. The findings show that the nature of policy issues under discussion and unequal resources of members lead to biased membership involvement in policy position-taking. While leaders are aware of these dynamics, their efforts to mitigate unequal participation seem limited, which raises questions about the representative potential of interest groups and the legitimacy of their policy claims. Contemporary governance systems are designed to promote an active engagement of external stakeholders. Public officials often consider interest groups as key intermediary actors as they provide relevant political and technical information that increases the legitimacy of decision-making processes.

Since public officials frequently rely on the policy input of interest groups, it is essential to better understand how these groups establish policy positions and assess the democratic nature of this process. More specifically, insight into member involvement in policy position-taking of interest groups is imperative for assessing their contribution to effective and legitimate public governance. Interest groups whose members are organizations (e.g., firms and NGOs) and/or associations (e.g., trade and professional associations, or federations of NGOs) are particularly relevant because they enjoy high degrees of access and influence among... Reference Binderkrantz, Christiansen and Pedersen.2015; Fraussen et al. Reference Fraussen, Beyers and Donas.2015) and supranational level – particularly in the European Union (EU) (Schnyder Reference Schnyder2016; Berkhout et al. Reference Berkhout, Hanegraaff and Braun.2017; Albareda and Braun Reference Albareda and Caelesta2019).

By representing the interest of their organizational members, these interest groups perform a vital intermediary function at the EU level because they are expected to connect societal voices with policymakers (Rodekamp Reference Rodekamp2014; Schnyder... As a result of their representative nature and often sizable constituency, these interest groups can contribute to an efficient and legitimate policy process that also facilitates policy implementation (Junk Reference Junk2019). Therefore, it is critical to assess how these groups involve their members in the process of internally establishing policy positions. A key assumption behind the democratic and political importance of interest groups is that they act in the common interests of their members and accurately represent their views and preferences (Chapman and Lowndes Reference... Reference Rajwani, Lawton and Phillips.2015). As noted by Dunleavy (Reference Dunleavy1991, p.

20), the representation narrative of interest groups is often based on the idea that “no group leader can publicly represent members’ interests without regular and open procedures for gauging their views” (cited in Halpin... This implies that, if groups have an aggregating function and aim to pursue the interests of members, those members should be involved in decision-making processes and able to influence it (Halpin Reference Halpin2006; Bolleyer... However, the process of involving members when establishing policy positions is rather complex and often suffers from collective action problems (Van Deth and Maloney Reference Van Deth and Maloney.2012; De Bruycker et al. Reference De Bruycker, Berkhout and Hanegraaff.2019). Not all members are equally capable and willing to participate in internal decision-making processes and share their viewpoints, and this challenges interest groups’ ability to fulfill their “transmission belt” function (Greenwood and Webster Reference... Moreover, previous work has highlighted trends toward professionalization, which often implies (more) limited involved of membership (e.g., Jordan and Maloney Reference Jordan and Maloney.1997; Albareda Reference Albareda2020b).

At the same time, other work demonstrates continued member-focused orientation of groups (Heylen et al. Reference Heylen, Willems and Beyers.2020; Fraussen et al. Reference Fraussen, Albareda, Braun and Maloney.2021). Research output: Types of Thesis › Doctoral Thesis › External Research output: Types of Thesis › Doctoral Thesis › External T2 - On the intermediary role of interest groups and its effects for their political relevance

N2 - Interest groups are often described as transmission belts that connect the preferences of their members with public officials in policymaking processes. Through this linkage, public officials can obtain relevant information and gain legitimacy from those affected by public policies. However, this important intermediary function is not a straightforward endeavor as interest groups often struggle to reconcile their dual function of representing their members while being politically active. This dissertation unpacks interest groups mobilized at the European Union level and examines how they are organized so as to function as transmission belts. Subsequently, it analyzes the effects of this transmissive role for the level of access and influence obtained by groups in policymaking processes. The findings shed light on the difficult task of groups in balancing member involvement while being politically active and the implications for the legitimacy of our governance systems.

AB - Interest groups are often described as transmission belts that connect the preferences of their members with public officials in policymaking processes. Through this linkage, public officials can obtain relevant information and gain legitimacy from those affected by public policies. However, this important intermediary function is not a straightforward endeavor as interest groups often struggle to reconcile their dual function of representing their members while being politically active. This dissertation unpacks interest groups mobilized at the European Union level and examines how they are organized so as to function as transmission belts. Subsequently, it analyzes the effects of this transmissive role for the level of access and influence obtained by groups in policymaking processes. The findings shed light on the difficult task of groups in balancing member involvement while being politically active and the implications for the legitimacy of our governance systems.

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