Democracy is recognized by most ordinary citizens in the free world as one of the most important components of modern Western society. Indeed, many of the issues around which politics today revolves concern matters of democracy such as equality in the workplace, the right to control one's reproductive rights, the right to carry arms, and so on. All of these rights are connected to the fundamental principle of freedom, which is an important pillar of democracy in today's world. However, as Hudson (2013) rightfully notes, there are those who are opposed to basic democratic principles, not only in foreign countries such as Saudi Arabia, where women are denied many basic rights that an average American woman would take for granted, but also in the United States itself. Despite the principle of promoting democracy via the hands of interest group leaders, some have become so powerful that they are able to monopolize political power. This has a detrimental effect on the democratic rights of general citizens. According to Hudson (2013, p. 22), the average citizen tends to be politically apathetic regarding matters that do not concern them directly. This leaves open the field for interest groups to contend for their views in the political arena. This system works only when interest group leaders themselves believe in the sacredness of democratic principles and the right of the public...
According to Rosenhall (2014), tobacco companies have exponentially increased their contributions to political campaigns over recent years in order to promote their own interests. These companies are powerful because they are rich, and therefore they have the power to promote their own interests without any regard for public safety or health.
Interest Groups Describe the different types of interest groups (single issue groups and public interest groups) and the goals that each type pursues. Single-issue interest groups are exactly that: groups concerned with one issue, and one issue only. Although the single interest might overlap with broader issues or related interests, the main goal of a single-interest group is to promote legislation related to the target area. For example, the National Rifle Association
Interest groups are organizations of people with similar policy goals who intend to influence a process to achieve their policy goals. Interest groups have been their since time immemorial with some being as old as the independent United States. Interest groups normally persuade elected representatives to share their point-of-view especially in democracies. In fact, they are a necessary requirement for democracies. A more universal definition of interest groups is a
Interest Groups in 2012 Presidential Election President Barak Obama was elected in 2008. This was an historic occasion in American history, given that Obama was the first African-American ever to assume the nation's highest office. His victory was also remarkable because of the overwhelmingly 'young' demographic composition of the voters who elected him. Voting turnout has been on the decline for many years in the United States, but has been particularly
Interest Groups and How Their Influence on Public Policy Interest Groups and their influence on public Policy Interest groups are clusters of people that come into existent to make stresses on government. The leading interest groups that are located in the United States are financial or occupational, but a range of other clusters -- philosophical, public interest, foreign policy, government itself, and ethnic, religious, and cultural -- have memberships that cut across
Interest Groups Seek Influence Public Policy Interest Groups Seek Influence Making Public Policy Define an interest group, with examples An interest group can be described as an association that is formally organized that is in pursuit of influencing public policy. The wider description, scholars using it increasingly, older contrasts with it, narrower ones, which are inclusive of private associations only that their formal organization is distinct like Italy's General Confederation of industry and
Interest Groups A FORCE TO RECKON WITH Special Interest Groups An interest group, or a special interest group, is a group of concerned individuals who share common goals (JB-HDNP, 2012). They connect the public to lawmakers and vice versa. They try to sway public opinion, election, and public policy (JB-HDNP). Special interest groups make strong demands on the government (Magleby et al., 2010). These groups may be economic or occupational, ideological, public interest,
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