It is believed that democracy is a government of the people, which implies that people participate actively in the formation of the government and the affairs of the state. People may play such a role in democracy in different ways – sometimes they participate directly by casting their votes and sometimes through different groups and organizations.
Political parties are one of the examples of such organizations through which people can participate in the affairs of the country. Another form of group through which people can influence the making of the government and the political decisions in the states is pressure group. Through pressure groups people belonging to different fields of lives strive to have their interests fulfilled in certain ways.
The pressure group, as distinct from a political party, is a collection of individuals who do not have any political program and do not aim at capturing power, but nonetheless try to protect and promote the interests of the members by exerting pressure on the administration to enact only those laws which do not go against the interests of the members.
In other words pressure group is an association of people who seek to influence the behavior of the political officials without attempting to gain formal control of government. It tries to use persuasive methods to obtain certain favorable decisions without aiming to capture political power.
The pressure groups are of different forms; business groups, professional bodies and trade unions are some of the examples. In the course of representing the interest of their members these groups are often active participants in the political processes. They may have both well defined political agendas and the financial resources necessary to exert broad influence on the political and regulatory process, utilizing direct lobbying, letter-writing campaigns and voter turnout efforts during elections.
In the first stance the pressure groups try to get their favorite members elected at the elections so that they may be able to exercise necessary influence through them at the various levels of administration. For this purpose they provide necessary finances and get party tickets for their favorites. It is natural that a candidate elected with the support of a pressure group will fully endorse its stand and protect its interest as a legislator and minister.
The pressure groups may also try to patronize certain member of the legislature so that they may be willing to take up their cause at their bidding. But in view of the rigid party discipline the members are generally not in a position to take a stand against the party directive. Therefore, the pressure groups try to cultivate intimate relations with various parties to achieve their objectives.
They also try to influence the executive, which is responsible for the formulation of the policy. For this purpose they raise, through their trusted legislator, questions – supplementary questions, adjournment motions, call attention motions, etc. They also exert pressure on the department of advice. The pressure groups also influence the executive policies by providing necessary information and data on the basis of which the decisions are taken. In the process they are able to exert lot of influence on the policy.
Even the judiciary is not immune from the influence of the pressure groups. They try to influence the views of the judges through articles, reviews, etc. published in papers and journals owned by them. These views greatly influence the thinking of the judges and thereby influence their decision.
Finally the pressure groups try to influence the public opinion through publications of special reports, books, pamphlets, panel discussion and press conferences. Through constant propaganda they are able to win sufficient support in favor of a particular public policy.
As far as the benefits and incentives of interest groups are concerned, the general theory is that individuals must be enticed with some type of benefit to join an interest group. Known as the Free Rider Problem, it refers to the difficulty of obtaining membership of a particular interest group when the benefits are already reaped without membership.
For instance, an interest group dedicated to improving farming standards will fight for the general goal of improving farming for every farmer, even those who are not members of that particular interest group. So there is no real incentive to join an interest group and pay dues if they will receive that benefit anyway.
Interest groups must receive dues and contributions from its members in order to accomplish its agenda. While every individual in the world would benefit from a cleaner environment, the environmental protection interest group does not, in turn, receive monetary help from every individual in the world.
The other benefits attributed to interest groups are 'selective material benefits' and 'expressive incentives'. Selective material benefits are usually given in monetary benefits. For instance, if an interest group gives a material benefit to their members, they could give them travel discounts, free meals at certain restaurants, or free subscriptions to magazines, newspapers or journals.
And, an expressive incentive is a type of incentive or benefit offered for being a member of an interest group. People who join an interest group because of expressive benefits likely join to express an ideological or moral value that they believe in. Some include free speech, civil rights, economic justice or political equality.
It is thus quite evident that the pressure groups play an important role in the working of the democratic governments. Though they do not aim at capturing political power, yet by use of their resources and persuasive power, they try to get such policy and measure through which they are likely to promote the interests of their members.
Though all the groups and organizations have the right to pursue their interests in the society, it is really necessary that they keep in consideration the democratic values and principles. They do not have the right to use illegal and non-ethical means to achieve their objectives. If they do so, they violate the basic principal of democracy and instead of nurturing the democratic environment they become responsible to spoil it. Such efforts by the interest groups should be kept in check strictly and properly by the government institutions.