How influential are interest groups in the American policymaking process

American Government

How influential are Interest Groups in the Policymaking Process?

The purpose of this work is the answer the question that asks how influential are the interest groups in the policymaking process? The identification of factors that affect the influence of groups in the policy process will be evaluated as well as their overall impact on policy.

The political and social influences in the form of organized groupings of society carry great influence in the policymaking processes as surely as the same is true in practically every public process that exists. According to the work entitled "Iron Triangles to Golden Pentangles" Globalizing the Policy Process. Global Governance (2001 written by author Phil Cerny. The work is subtitled "The Limits of Traditional Approaches to Public Policy and states that:" Most academic discussion of the public policy process treats the international and global levels of analysis as exogenous. This reflects a general tendency in social science to see domestic political systems as the paramount playing fields where political actors interact and pursue their goals." (Cerny, 2001)

As it is commonly known those aforementioned 'actors' with their 'pursuits' focused intently toward the 'goals' that culminate in policy and policy processes that are complex as well as many times being adverse to the common good of society and community at large. Indeed the question must be asked what it is that influences the influence the policymakers or what it is that drives them in their purpose. Is life really all a stage and we only its' actors as stated in the work of Williams Shakespeare? Over the past One hundred years intergovernmental processes have been organized around groups of exclusive or elite officials and politicians with similar backgrounds whether through clusters of governments, intergovernmental agencies or distinguished individuals. There has been an explosion of growth in terms of actors in society in the extension of and building of alliances and coalitions that know no national boundaries. The countries of the world that are hose which are less industrialized witnessed the growth of civil mobilization and the delusions after the post-colonial period realization that states regimes were pursuing policies of transformation socially geared to favor those of less privileged and marginalization historically.

There are eminent figures of power that in the historical content of global governance. These individuals typically based their credibility from position of political power within the inner sanctums of national government and international bureaucrat

Analysis of Policy and Interest Groups

Policy Defined

Policy is defined as "Any plan or course of action adopted by a governments, political party, business organization of the like designed to influence and determine decisions, actions and other matters;" and as "A course of action, guiding principle or procedure considered to be expedient, prudent or advantageous." (Judith Evans 1996)

Policy has also been defined as being: "A set of interrelated decisions taken by a political actor or group of actors concerning the selection of goals and means of achieving them within a specified situation where those decisions should, in principle, be within the power of these actors to achieve." (Jenkins, 1993)

Policymaking, or the formation of policies is stated to have two dimensions, which are:

Dimension One: It is carried out by a specific set of actors; and Dimension Two: It is according to some specific type of process.

The term "Ex-Ante V. Post-Hoc Policy" is definitive of the fact that policy is sometimes created in expectation that it will be a force that drives decisions and in fact preceding decisions and affecting the method and manner in which decisions are made. This view is in contrast with the view of policy as being the 'codification of experience'. The first is related to a rational and managerial policy view and the second may be sourced from a type of laissez faire treatment of a specific subject or may be sourced from a process of 'successive and incremental adjustments over time as operational problems appear.'

Interest Groups Defined

Interest groups are defined as, "organizations, which seek to influence government policy through bargaining and persuasion and other means that are not focused toward election candidates. Inclusive in interest groups are organization whose main focus and purpose is that of a producer of both goods and services but seek to affect the influence government secondary to the production aspect. The power held by interest groups is best studied through examining the development of the theory of group pluralism, which is said to be inclusive of four stages that are: