Interest Groups Springer

This article is made available via the PMC Open Access Subset for unrestricted research re-use and secondary analysis in any form or by any means with acknowledgement of the original source. These permissions are granted for the duration of the World Health Organization (WHO) declaration of COVID-19 as a global pandemic. Understanding interest group systems is crucial to understanding the functioning of advanced democracies, but less is known about its relevance in developing and nascent democracies. While advocacy studies in the Global North have exploded since the late 1990s, exploration of organized interest activities in the Global South remains a niche topic, impeding comparative analysis. In this introductory essay—and in this special issue—we make a case for why investigating lobbying in the Global South can improve theoretical and empirical understandings of advocacy processes and make our work more relevant... We also provide tips for how to best engage with the unique challenges of lobbying in Southern policymaking settings and processes.

Drawing on the findings from the special issue, the essay concludes by presenting a contemporary research agenda for interest group scholars which identifies where synergies already exist and where South–South and North–South comparative case... In so doing, we promote a mutually beneficial dialogue which tables existing research contributions and gaps in each region as opportunities for communal discussion and learning. Keywords: Interest groups, Lobbying, Advocacy, Global South, Global North Existing knowledge and current research on interest groups are highly developed when it comes to countries of the Global North. The largest concentration of studies analyses advocacy in the USA (Nownes 2015; Walker and McCarthy 2010; Brulle et al. 2007), in West European countries (Van Waarden 1992; Naurin and Borang 2012; Mohan 2012; Klüver 2015; Fisker 2013; and Christiansen 2012; Mahrenbach 2020) and lobbying vis-à-vis the EU (Berkhout 2015; Berkhout and Lowery 2010;...

More recently, scholars have begun to explore Central and Eastern European countries (Rozbicka et al 2021; Dobbins and Riedel 2021), as well as some settings further afield, like Australia (Fraussen and Halpin 2016). The vast accomplishments of that literature demonstrate that understanding interest group systems remains crucial to understanding the functioning of advanced democracies (Putnam 2000; Beyers et al. 2008; Bartolini 2005; Mair 2006). Interest organizations are perceived as partners in the policy process, enhancing its open, transparent, and participatory character. In fact, the emergence and sustainability of interest groups is often treated as one of the prerequisites of successful democratization. Yet, in spite of the importance of interest groups for the democratization process, studies of interest groups’ activities in the Global South are still a rarity (with some notable exceptions, including the publications by...

Irwin and Kyande 2022 or Alba Vega 2012). While Western democracies link the emergence of modern civil society and democratization with a century-long process, different patterns emerge when examining interest group activity in the Global South. For instance, rapid and unexpected regime changes may create opportunities for interest communities to emerge (as in Rozbicka et al. 2021) or prevent the same from happening (Dendere and Taodzera, this issue). Similarly, neoliberal market reforms may shift the balance of domestic economic power enough to create a new lobbying structure (Mancuso et al. 2016; Hopewell 2014; Mancuso et al., this issue).

Comparing interest representation in underexplored countries with similar processes in Western counterparts can elucidate how neglecting interest representation in much of the world has hindered our understanding of advocacy in general. The growing need for a concise and comprehensive overview of the world of interest groups, lobbying, and public affairs called for a compendium of existing research, key theories, concepts, and case studies. This project is the first transnational encyclopedia to offer such an interdisciplinary and wide overview of these topics, including perspectives on public relations, crisis management, communication studies, as well as political science, political marketing,... It is an interdisciplinary work, which involved an extraordinary pool of contributors made up of leading scholars and practitioners from all around the globe; it is a live and evolving project focused on drawing... The 200+ entries of the Palgrave Encyclopedia of Interest Groups, Lobbying and Public Affairs (to be found as a live reference work online here, and in two print volumes in 2022) address these research... This encyclopedia acts as a synthesis of existing research, and aims to aid academics, students, and practitioners navigate their relevant fields around the globe.

Professor Phil Harris Is Professor Emeritus Marketing & Public Affairs, University of Chester, UK & Professor Extraordinarius at University of South Africa (UNISA),Pretoria and a Fellow of the Good Governance Institute. He has held a number of senior academic positions and directorships in China, New Zealand and the UK, this included the Westminster Chair from 2009 to 2020 at Chester and a Professorship at University... he is recognized for his research on entrepreneurship, strategic public affairs management and political marketing. Phil is founding editor of the Journal of Public Affairs and a member of a number of international editorial and advisory boards and has authored over 300 articles & 20 books. Before becoming an academic he worked in the chemical, food and media industries and has served on a number of boards and taught and advised Businesses and Government in Asia, Europe and North America. Phil holds visiting professorships in China and Germany and currently advises on China, Entrepreneurialism, Public Affairs and Transparency.

He is a Freeman of the City of London and holds the CIM Presidents medal for his contribution to developing International business & marketing. Alberto Bitonti is Lecturer in Political Theory and Political Communication and postdoctoral research fellow at Università della Svizzera Italiana (Switzerland), Professor of Politics at IES Abroad Rome, and Adjunct Professor of Methodology of Social... He has conducted research and taught at various universities and research institutes (American University of Washington DC, Yale, Umbra Institute of Perugia, Newberry Library of Chicago, IULM, Eurispes, IED, CENSIS, Pontificia Universidad Católica de... (Università di Roma Tre, 2011) by developing research on the philosophy of lobbying and the concept of public interest. He published Lobbying in Europe: Public Affairs and the Lobbying Industry in 28 EU Countries (Palgrave Macmillan 2017, co-edited with Phil Harris) and Classe dirigente: Il profile del potere in Italia (Datanews 2012), besides... Trying to bridge the gap between academic research and policy action, he provides advice to a variety of NGOs, firms, political groups, and governments and works with various organizations promoting open government and innovation...

In Italy, he founded and coordinated the Open Lobby coalition. He is currently leading an international research project on deliberative quality in international organizations. Craig S. Fleisher Ph.D. (Pittsburgh), MPRCA, is the Chief Analytics Officer at Aurora WDC (Madison, Wisconsin); Professor (adj.) in the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences/Institute for Health and Equity, Medical College of Wisconsin; He was Deputy and Regional... Public Interest Groups, often referred to as advocacy or pressure groups, are organizations formed to influence public policy and promote specific interests or causes.

They have roots in the early days of American democracy, emerging in response to the concerns about factions highlighted by James Madison in 1787. These groups engage in various activities such as lobbying, drafting legislation, and conducting awareness campaigns to represent a diverse array of interests, including environmental protection, education, healthcare, and civil rights. The landscape of public interest groups is marked by competition, where different groups vie for attention and influence, often resulting in legislation that reflects a balance of competing interests. The role of these groups has become increasingly significant, especially in times of political gridlock, with multiple interest groups often contributing to a single piece of legislation. Public attitudes toward these groups can vary widely, with some seen as essential voices in democracy while others are viewed skeptically due to concerns about transparency and the influence of money in politics. Despite these mixed perceptions, public interest groups remain pivotal in shaping policy and advocating for their constituents, often reflecting the complex tapestry of societal interests and values.

In 1787 when the United States Constitution was in the process of being ratified, James Madison was adamant about the dangers of factions and the threat they posed to democracy. In Federalist No. 10, Madison defined factions as citizens "united and actuated by some common impulse of passion, or of interest, adverse to the rights of other citizens, or to the permanent and aggregate interests of the... Thus, Madison argued, it was necessary to control the effects of the "mischiefs of factions." Efforts to control factions led to the formation over time of public interest groups, also known as pressure groups,... Group activities may involve trying to get legislation passed, blocking detrimental legislation, writing draft legislation, or conducting publicity campaigns. Some observers believe that the role of public interest groups has become increasingly significant in the face of Congresses gridlocked by partisan impasse.

A single piece of legislation may involve input from as many as five separate interest groups. There are strict laws concerning politicians' interaction with lobbyists, the behavior of lobbyists, and employment of former legislators as lobbyists. Public interest groups tend to be private, informal, informative, persuasive, and self-serving. Historically, public interest groups have played a significant role in American politics, promoting such issues as temperance and abolition. The first record of organized lobbying was found in New York in 1829. However, it was not until the late nineteenth century that public interest groups were considered an essential element of the political process.

In 1789, when Congress met at Federal Hall in New York City for its first session, the first lobbyists, representing the banking industry, were in attendance. Early public interest groups surfaced to protect the interests of corporations, monopolies, railroads, and weapons manufacturers. In 1850, scandal erupted over the bribing of public officials to influence votes on tariff legislation. In response, Congress conducted the first of many investigations into interest group tactics. The Gilded Age that followed has been identified as the Golden Age of lobbyists. The names of lobbyists William Chandler and Sam Ward became widely known.

Newspapers were rife with stories of bribery and jobs being exchanged for contracts and land grants. The export option will allow you to export the current search results of the entered query to a file. Different formats are available for download. To export the items, click on the button corresponding with the preferred download format. By default, clicking on the export buttons will result in a download of the allowed maximum amount of items. To select a subset of the search results, click "Selective Export" button and make a selection of the items you want to export.

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