Waples, American Government: Stories of a Nation for the AP® Course, 2E, Chapter 15

interest group

voluntary association of people who come together with the goal of getting the specific policies that they favor passed.

social movements

people who come together for a common purpose or goal of educating the public and making social and political change by pressuring policymakers and placing issues on the policy agenda.

theory of participatory democracy

a theory that individual participation in politics and civil society is essential to democratic government.

civil society group

independent association outside the government’s control.

pluralist theory

a theory of democracy that emphasizes the role nongovernmental group-based activism in an effort to impact the policymaking process.

elite theory

a theory of democracy based on the premise that participation in politics and civil society is limited because elites have a disproportionate amount of influence in the policymaking process.

policy agenda

the set of issues to which government officials, voters, and the public are paying attention.

free riders

individuals who benefit from the actions of an interest group without providing financial support.

selective benefit

benefit available only to those who join the group.

single-issue group

association focusing on one specific area of public policy, often a moral issue about which they are unwilling to compromise.

lobbying

interacting with government officials to advance a group’s pub- lic policy goals.

amicus curiae brief

a brief filed by an individual or a group that is not a party to a case but is acting as a “friend of the court,” to provide additional information for justices to consider when reviewing the case.

iron triangle

a mutually beneficial association of bureaucratic agencies, congressional committees, and interest groups, all working in specific policy areas.

issue network

a temporary association of bureaucratic agencies, congressional committees, and interest groups formed to address a specific policy.

protest

a public demonstration designed to call attention to an issue.

civil disobedience

the intentional refusal to obey a law, in order to call attention to its injustice.