POM - lecture 7 - interest groups (Ch6 in old book, Ch4 in new book)

insider versus outsiders, section versus cause is important! exam wil focus on this 

interest groups 

• interest groups are voluntary 

• neither politicians nor civil servants operate in an isolated world 

• policy makers often consult / are consulted by groups outside government for information and support, some are called interest groups 

• … 

• examples interest groups; greenpeace (cause group), nurses unions (sectional group), patient organizations (cause group, because not only patients also family of patients), amnesty international

• doktors without borders provide services and do not really influence policies so they are not a interest groups. 

phases of policy making

• this often is represented as a circle

• interest groups have power in;

  • agenda setting → ideas, innovation, research

  • sometimes present at the table, policy formulation and policy implementation → advocacy, lobbying.

  • interest groups can also implement, monitor or control policies (baby food, bfpn)

ideas of interest groups

• in pluralist societies interest groups may be important brake on executive power → or driver

• try to bend public policy towards their own (narrow) interests → less inclined to think of the complex set of trade-ofs

• in industrialized countries there has been huge growth in interest groups → overcrowded policy environment

• few interest groups in LMIC → citizens show discontent through non compliance , evasion or disengagement → through huge increase in NGOs, often primarily function in service delivery, but advocacy is often part of their activities

three key interests

• professional monopolists 

  • want professionals autonomy and quality 

  • doctors union 

• corporate rationalizers 

  • focus on the market, management and efficiency. making profit. 

• equal community health advocates 

  • the people and equity 

  • NGOs 

focus on NGOs, civil society and interest groups

• civil society → space between the state and the market and the houshold 

• interest groups → 

• NGOs → formal bodies, active in civil society, some want to influence policy (but not all) 

NGOs in LMIC

• civil society in most L and MIC is relatively weak 

• in these contexts, NGOs (including those funded by donors or foreign governments) often take on role of interest groups, at times exerting considerable influence (colonial) 

• external and accounted for 29% of total health spending in low income countries in 2020 

• historically NGOs in the health sector functions as apolitical providers of welfare and relief foe the poor and were predominantly established, staffed and run by expatriates → provide health to all

• many NGOs have shifted from a primarily ‘ doing’ roles to a more influencing role in policy and governance. 

• 1st generation of NGOs

  • red cross

  • relief, humanitarian are 

  • based on capital investment

• 2nd generation NGOs

  • 1970s acknowledgement of limitqtions of relief and increasing dependency 

  • shifted to self reliance → small scale projects, farming, preventative medicine 

• 3rd generation NGOs

  • mid 1980s they noticed that small scale projects had bery limited impact 

  • system NGOs → focus on sustainable change,m including policy making

• 4rth generation NGOs

  • fostering networks to contribute to 3rd generation 

• 5th generation (DIRK thinks( 

  • ad hoc, not formal, lose movements

BRAC

• NGO in Bangladesh

  • was set up as parallel service to the governemnt, provide health services

  • currently part of the government 

  • primarily service delivary 

MCNV

• medical committee netherlands vietnam

• facillitator 

• to improve health and wellbeing of the people in vietnam (and laos) especially of the most vulnerable groups 

• tuberculosis programme 

TAG

• treatment action group 

• whose activism and innovation turned AIDS from a death sentence into a managable condition. these activists infiltrated the pharmaceutical industry and helped indentify promising new drugs, moving them from experimental trials to patients in record time. 

• made antiretrovirals available at lower cost

• also changed ethics in health research 

How NGOs influence policy 

• NGOs are often dynamic innovative organisations that develop new views and experiment with new working methods 

• NGOs are effecrive in reaching grass roots (communities) 

• may be approached by government for advice or to work togehter 

• or inspire in other ways 

• but NGOs may also actively lobby 

• and from networks (with other NGOs) 

• NGOs often link up with international organization (WHO) 

• sometimes NGOs may organize mass protest as means of advocacy 

• there are drawbacks 

Combination of activities that is successful for big changes!!! (proof of principle, something works) 

functions of interest groups

• participation, alternative (direct) way for voters 

  • students participate in university policy making

• representation → widens range of options and widens range of values 

• motivation → drivers, bring in ew issues, more information, new views, new policy options 

• mobilization → build pressure for action 

• monitoring → assessing performance of government and private corporations 

• political education 

• provision → deliver services, innovations 

  • possibly as public contractors

types of interest groups

• sectional versus cause groups 

  • sectional → 

  • cause 

• insider verus outsider 

  • based on regonition by government 

sectional groups

• protect interests of their membership and political pressure is a secondary aim (only when necessary) 

  • stand for producer interest

• often relatively strong and can have power (trade unions) 

  • strikes, evasion, new ideas, monitoring 

• in health sector, medical professioonals were in dmninat positions with considerable control over training and regulation of their own members 

• changed in the 80s, medical professionals (doctors) moved from privileged position to less centre stage 

• in many countries still very powerful actors. 

cause groups

• are there to change, have a goal (greenpeace)

• exist primarlily to pressurize on particular issues

  • value driven

  • stand for consumer interest

  • social movement

• draw their membership from a wide range of people within society

• for example environmental groups, human rights groups

  • can be sponsored by producers / industry

insider groups

• can sit at the table 

• accepted and respected by governemnt policy makers → perceived legitimate 

• government may turn to such groups for information or to test ideas for policy changes

• may be incited to join particular goverment comittees 

• may be deeply involved in decision making 

• often subtle lobbying 

outsider groups

• not perceived as legitimate by government policy 

• difficulty in penetrating policy process

• may resort to direct action trying to get media coverage and to mobilize public opinion 

• may try to persuade individual politicians to take up their cause in legislature 

• outsider groups may become insider groups particularly when delivering services seen as relevant by government 

professional lobbyists

• lobby is the part of advocacy that focusres on legislation

disecourse community versus interest network

drawbacks of interest groups

• legitimacy → democracy of representation of numbers / values

• difficulty in reconciling conflicting claims

• time consuming to reach decisions

• some groups may be marginalized

• dominant groups can use multiple channels

• who finances interest groups

• some interest groups can be self interested, badly informed, misleading, intimidating etc.

• difficult to determine level of representation.