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Advocacy groups, also known as lobby groups, interest groups, special interest groups, pressure groups, or public associations, use various forms of advocacy or lobbying to influence public opinion and ultimately public policy. [1] They play an important role in the development of political and social systems. [2]
The existence of knowledgeable government agencies is necessary to balance the demands of competing groups and thereby ensure greater stability of policy outcomes. For example, in Australia, higher education is a good example of how the government is listening to clientele groups (issue networks) less than they were in the past due to the ...
Although he never used the words "collective action problem", Thomas Hobbes was an early philosopher on the topic of human cooperation. Hobbes believed that people act purely out of self-interest, writing in Leviathan in 1651 that "if any two men desire the same thing, which nevertheless they cannot both enjoy, they become enemies."
Lobbying is a form of advocacy, which lawfully attempts to directly influence legislators or government officials, such as regulatory agencies or judiciary. [1] Lobbying involves direct, face-to-face contact and is carried out by various entities, including individuals acting as voters, constituents, or private citizens, corporations pursuing their business interests, nonprofits and NGOs ...
By aligning itself with selected constituencies, an agency may be able to affect policy outcomes directly in these committees and subcommittees. [15] This is where an iron triangle may manifest itself. The image above displays the concept. At one corner of the triangle are interest groups (constituencies) and non-state actors.
What this theory fails to take into account is the prospect of overcoming these qualities by garnering support from other groups. By aggregating power with other organizations, interest groups can over-power these non-transferable qualities. In this sense, political pluralism still applies to these aspects.
Generally the traditional theory of groups does not take the size of groups into consideration. Hence, there is no distinction between large and small groups. Every group has the same basic character and is equally effective in fulfilling its function of advancing the main interests of its members.
Mancur Olson's 1965 book The Logic of Collective Action: Public Goods and the Theory of Groups, is an important early analysis of the problems of public good cost. Besides economics, the theory has found many applications in political science , sociology , communication , anthropology and environmentalism .