PRESSURE GROUP: CHARACTERISTICS AND EXAMPLES IN THE WORLD - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2024

The lobbyists are groups of persons or institutions who share ideology about something in particular and come together to create change, whether economic, social or political level. Lobbyists are generally dissatisfied with something specific.

The motivation of this group of people has nothing to do with occupying positions of power, they simply struggle to influence the decisions made by some governmental or private organizations.

Amnesty International is one of the largest lobbying organizations in the world. Source: BTardigrade, via Wikimedia Commons.

Unions are the most popular pressure groups in the world. They are normally created to defend the rights and interests of workers in a specific area or a company. Like there are many public interest organizations. The term was born in the United States.

characteristics

Pressure groups, although they may have different ranges of action or motivations, always have characteristics that help define them. To begin with, the organization of this group of people always happen by common interests.

Power groups may have a counterpart or another organization that fights for an opposite objective.

It can be said that they are not loyal in political terms. By seeking to defend only their interests, pressure groups create alliances with whoever guarantees that their objectives will be met.

They do not have a defined time of life or performance. Their level of influence depends a lot on the context they live in and the conditions surrounding their requests.

There are some methods you can use to influence decisions in your best interests. They tend to finance political parties to guarantee an alliance, even with candidates for different positions of power.

The interests of these groups often prevail over the interests of others. They do not think of the common good or the benefit of other groups that may be contrary to their ideologies.

They can operate locally, nationally, and even internationally and work without profit from their work.

How do lobbyists operate?

The key for lobbyists to be successful in their petitions is to partner with people or organizations that have decision-making power on the issue that affects them. Money is usually a very powerful weapon to earn favors, which are usually disguised as endorsements.

Types

Classifying pressure groups can be very complicated, because it is necessary to define thematic, duration, at what scale to work, among many other details. Although to simplify everything, we can talk about four different types of pressure groups: that are of interest, by cause, internal or external.

Interest groups

This group of people is also known as protectors or sectionals. They are those that represent a much larger group of people grouped by something specific. Normally they are the groups that defend the rights of the workers, that look after the interests of the consumers or the members of some religion.

Unions are the most representative workers' movements of this type of pressure group.

Groups by cause

They receive other definitions, since they are also known as groups by topic or promotional. These people, rather than defending interests, fight to defend values ​​or a set of attitudes that they consider to be correct.

Here are grouped those who work to eradicate poverty, who seek to generate changes in education, those who take care of the environment or activists who defend some fundamental rights of the human being such as freedom.

Anyone can be part of these types of groups as long as they share the same values ​​or beliefs. Their encouragement is usually for much more altruistic reasons.

Internal groups

You have much more access to the decision-making process. Sometimes they are even consulted by the groups in power to give their opinion on the best way forward. This level of participation is not something fixed.

External groups

It is the complete opposite of internal groups. Their range of participation in decision-making is usually very low. Although they can be consulted by senior officials, it is not something that happens regularly.

Pressure groups vs political groups

Although pressure groups aim to influence decision-making, they should not be confused with groups of a political nature. Members of political parties always seek a position in positions of power in order to propose changes.

Lobbyists usually focus on one specific area (work, health, religion, education), while politicians must work across all kinds of issues. In any case, the relationship between the two is undeniable.

Examples of pressure groups in the world

Today pressure groups exist in all parts of the world, at any level and on any subject. Although there are some countries where the action of this group of people is usually more common and they have a greater weight when it comes to influencing society and power groups.

India

Lobbyists play a very important role. Political parties always try to enlist their cooperation, although these groups never show their support or opposition to any political actor.

This alliance is especially visible when electoral processes are carried out. In this nation they have not developed adequately, at least when compared with other countries where the influence of pressure groups is very high, as in England or the United States.

In India, lobbyists are subdivided into more groups. At the business level there is the Chamber of Commerce and there are also unions to defend workers and industries.

There are pressure groups at the professional level, such as associations of lawyers, journalists or teachers. Even the students have congregated in the National Union of Students of India. Finally, there are groups that defend different ideologies, such as each of the 22 languages ​​that are used, the tribes, the caste system and without a doubt the religions.

UK

Along with France, it is one of the European countries where the presence of pressure groups is highest. Tony Blair, who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom between 1997 and 2007, came to create one of the most important pressure groups in the country with Great Britain in Europe, in which they supported the change of currency to the euro.

In England, political parties have lost relevance and membership has plummeted over the years. Communities have preferred to associate with pressure groups that allow them to defend their ideals or guarantee certain benefits.

Some pressure groups, such as the Bird Protection Society, already have more members than all the political parties combined (there are 18 in total, counting the Conservative, Workers, Scottish National, or the Liberal-Democrat for example).

On an international level

One of the most important global lobby groups is Amnesty International. It is a non-profit association that works in the defense of human beings.

References

1. Baggott, R. (1995). Pressure groups today. Manchester: Manchester University Press.
2. Castles, F. (2009). Pressure groups and political culture: a comparative study. Abingdon: Routledge.
3. Grant, W. (1999). Pressure Groups, Politics and Democracy in Britain. London: Macmillan Education, Limited.
4. Mesa-Lago, C. (1991). Social security and prospects for equity in Latin America. Washington: World Bank.
5. Watts, D. (2007). Pressure groups. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.