How do they influence politics?
There are many ways pressure groups exert influence on politics:
- They try in gaining support and sympathy for their goals and their activities by carrying out information campaigns, organizing meetings, etc., and influencing the media in giving more attention to these issues.
- Organization of protest activities like strikes or disrupting government programs.
- Business groups employ professional lobbyists or sponsor expensive advertisements.
- Most movement groups take a political stance without even being a party and have a major political ideology and political position on major issues and relationships with political parties can take different forms; either direct or indirect.
- In some instances, pressure groups are formed or led by political parties or act as an extended arm of political parties. An example is student union organizations are either established or affiliated with one or more major political parties and most leaders are activists and leaders of the party.
- Sometimes political parties can grow out of movements. Like Assam Movement led by students against “foreigners” came to end with the formation of Asom Gana Parishad.
- In many cases, the relationship between parties and interest groups is not direct, and take positions opposed to each other. Most of the new leadership of political parties is from movement groups.
Pressure Groups and Movements
A pressure group refers to a group of people; who are organized activities for promoting and defending their common interests. It is called so for bringing a change in public policies by the exertion of some pressure on the government and also acts as a catalyst between the government and its members.
Pressure groups are also referred to as interest groups or vested groups and they differ from the political parties; as they do not contest in elections and also do not try to capture political power. Protection and promotion of their members from the influence of the government are one of their primary concerns. They influence policy making and policy implementation in the government through legal as well as legitimate methods.
These groups come in a variety of shapes and sizes :
- From the standpoint of purpose, self-seeking, and altruism.
- With regard to the point of tenure, ephemeral and long-term; and with regard to the formal or informal bureaucratic organization, taking into account the fact of power position.
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