Civil society, interest groups, and the media

What broad topic does this chapter cover?

The chapter examines political life outside the state and parties, focusing on civil society, interest groups, "infrapolitics" (everyday politics from below), and the political role of the media and new communication technologies.

How does Robertson define civil society?

As the framework within which people conduct their lives—economic relations, family and kinship, religious institutions, and so on—distinct from, but intertwined with, political authority; no clear boundary can be drawn between the two

When did "civil society" become widely used in contemporary politics, according to the text?

Since the late 1980s, when popular movements and non‑state actors helped challenge or overturn authoritarian regimes in places like the Philippines, South Korea, China (Tiananmen), and Eastern Europe.

What role did civil society play in the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe?

Informal and semi‑organized groups, such as independent trade unions and dissident networks, mobilized citizens, coordinated protests, and ultimately undermined communist regimes, demonstrating the potential power of civil society

Why did civil society gain such positive connotations in the 1990s?

It was associated with democratization, peaceful protest, and new forms of non‑coercive politics, leading many to see it as a metaphor for the good society and a key to spreading democracy elsewhere.

What main questions are raised about the concept of civil society later in the chapter?

Whether civil society is an analytical concept or a normative ideal, what groups it includes or excludes, how it relates to existing inequalities and the state, and why it has such ambiguous, contested meanings

What are interest groups and why are they important in democracies?

They are a major component of civil society—organized groups that articulate and represent sectional interests, channelling citizens' demands and potentially enhancing democratic participation, especially where parties are weak or cartelized.

How do interest groups differ from political parties?

They seek to influence government rather than win governmental office; they focus on particular interests instead of presenting comprehensive programmes for governing the whole society

Why did Madison worry about "factions," and how does pluralism reinterpret them?

Madison feared factions would privilege partial interests over the public good, but pluralist theorists argue that competing groups bring diverse ideas into politics and are essential to liberal democracy.

What key analytic problem about interest groups is raised in this section?

Defining what counts as a "group": whether only self‑conscious organizations (like Friends of the Earth) or also looser categories such as social classes; there is no single definitive answer.

How does Robertson define interest groups?

As "associations formed to promote a sectional interest in the political system," which normally do not present themselves as candidates for government but try to influence policy outcomes

What is the distinction between insider and outsider interest groups?

Insiders work mainly through lobbying, negotiation, and close contact with officials; outsiders rely more on public campaigns, media, and mobilizing opinion because they lack privileged access or choose to remain at arm's length from government.

What is corporatism in interest‑group theory?

A model in which governments grant a privileged, formal role to certain peak interest organizations for regular consultation, instead of treating all groups equally; the state listens more to recognized "insiders".

What kinds of organizations are central in corporatist systems?

National "peak" associations representing major socio‑economic interests, such as employers' confederations and trade‑union federations, which negotiate with the state over socio‑economic policy.

How does Schmitter distinguish two variants of corporatism?

- Societal corporatism: emerges from pressures from below, as organized groups in society push for recognition.

- State corporatism: initiated from above, where the state selects and shapes its preferred partner organizations.

In what historical context was corporatism especially important in Western Europe?

During the 1960s-70s Keynesian era, when governments, employers, and unions regularly bargained over unemployment, wages, and inflation, particularly in Nordic countries, Germany, and France.

What key points does the textbook highlight about corporatism?

- It privileges certain national peak organizations as negotiating partners of the state in socio‑economic policy.

- It can be either society‑led or state‑led.

- It remains a common approach to governance in much of continental Europe.

What is "infrapolitics" according to Scott and political anthropology?

The subtle, often hidden ways in which the powerless resist or undermine authority—through ambiguous talk, evasion, foot‑dragging, poaching, squatting, folk myths, and everyday practices rather than open rebellion

Why had infrapolitics often been missed by political scientists?

Because it operates in informal conversations, non‑elites' discourse, and disguised acts, which are hard to observe; historians noticed some forms of everyday resistance earlier, but political science tended to focus on formal institutions and elites

What are subaltern studies mainly concerned with?

The perspectives and experiences of lower‑level or marginalized groups ("subalterns") and their interactions with officials, emphasizing that people encounter multiple variants of the state depending on their position in hierarchies of power.​

What does it mean to "decentre" or "provincialize" Europe in subaltern studies?

To study politics and society in other regions on their own terms, rather than viewing them through a European lens, and to question the idea that Western modernity is the only path to development.

What development strategy do subaltern scholars advocate?

Searching for alternative paths to modernity that fit local (often non‑Western) circumstances instead of copying Western models; they stress strategies that reflect local histories and cultures

What key points does the textbook list about this "view from below"?

- Political anthropology links political behaviour and attitudes to cultural context, especially at the grassroots.

- Subaltern studies highlight the many ways people perceive and experience the state.

- They also call for development strategies not simply borrowed from the West but adapted to local conditions.​

Why is the media crucial for politics in democracies?

It shapes citizens' perceptions of politics and is linked to freedom of speech; constitutions like the US First Amendment treat a free press as essential for informed democratic citizenship

Traditionally, what role did the press play in relation to government?

It confronted or challenged authorities on behalf of ordinary people and opposition parties, acting as another branch of civil society and a check on executive power, especially through investigative journalism (e.g., Watergate).

What risks and pressures do journalists and media outlets face today?

Many journalists are killed each year; owners and editors may use outlets to promote particular political standpoints; and media companies rely on political stories to attract audiences and advertising, leading to pressures toward sensationalism and profit.

How has media coverage been criticized in recent decades?

For "dumbing down" politics by prioritizing human‑interest stories and infotainment over serious policy analysis, and for political public relations that "spin" messages and reduce politics to sound bites

What four broad theories of media influence are mentioned?

- Powerful "magic bullet" media that inject messages into passive audiences.

- Two‑step flow where media effects are filtered by local opinion leaders.

- Uses‑and‑gratifications theory, focusing on how people actively use media to satisfy needs.

- Encoding/decoding theory, where journalists encode messages but audiences may decode them differently.

What key points summarize the media-politics relationship?

- The press has been seen as vital to liberal democracy and checking the executive.

- Politicians and media are sometimes adversaries, sometimes accomplices.

- The media are blamed for dumbing down coverage, while politicians are blamed for spin.

- Any assessment of media power must consider all formats, not just news.

- The actual "power of the press" is very hard to pin down empirically.

Why do new communications technologies matter for politics?

Internet and mobile phones may now shape politics more than traditional newspapers and TV by giving ordinary citizens extra opportunities to use new "public spaces" to influence politics and organize collectively.

What three broad political effects of new technologies does the text highlight?A:

- They transform citizens' ability to organize themselves into groups—even under hostile authorities.

- They widen opportunities for non‑journalists to report news and comment, democratizing access to media.

- They could reshape formal decision‑making institutions, e.g. voting and referendums, via electronic tools.

How do new technologies promote horizontal communication?

They allow political actors and citizens to mobilize using networks like mobile phones (including SMS) and the Internet, rather than relying on top‑down communication from national capitals and TV stations.​

What early hopes and realities about the Internet and party politics does the text note?

Initially, the Internet seemed to lower barriers for outsiders to run for office and communicate cheaply, but established parties quickly adopted and refined online campaigning, using it to mobilize donations and target messages more effectively than challengers.

How did SMS and social networking contribute to the fall of Joseph Estrada in the Philippines?

In 2001, rapid circulation of critical SMS messages and later use of social networks helped mobilize huge street protests after corruption allegations; after several days Estrada lost support, was forced to resign, and became known as the first major political casualty of SMS politics.

How do authoritarian regimes respond to the Internet, according to the text?

They treat it as a major challenge and expand surveillance, censorship, and firewalls (e.g. China's control of politically sensitive content), yet technologically skilled citizens can still use mirror sites and other tools to bypass controls, making full control very hard.​

What opportunities and risks do new technologies create for extremist groups?

The same tools that help democratic activists can aid extremists in spreading propaganda, recruiting adherents, and coordinating violence; this makes monitoring and countering online extremism a serious problem for all governments.

What does "everyone a blogger, everyone a journalist" mean here?

New media let non‑journalists publish comments and news on blogs or social platforms, sometimes becoming more influential than traditional commentators; individuals can upload alternative accounts or videos of events directly from the scene

What key hopes and problems are identified for e‑democracy and electronic voting?

Electronic tools might aggregate citizen preferences and enable more direct participation, but they face issues of security, potential fraud, unequal access, and the difficulty of reaching stable decisions when many options and interdependent choices exist (linked to Arrow's theorem).

What key points summarize the political impact of new technologies?

- They raise hopes for transforming citizen involvement and challenging established systems.

- They can create "smart mobs" able to disrupt government and hold it to ransom.

- Their political effect is greatest where institutions are weak or in crisis.

- They let non‑journalists publish influential news and enable more local decision‑making.

- Electronic voting still faces serious doubts about integrity.

According to the conclusion, how are new technologies changing civil society and politics beyond the state?

They make it easier for citizens to organize across borders, promoting an emerging "international civil society" and perhaps a broader "network society" or "network world," where new forms of self‑organization reshape both domestic and international politics.

What is your teacher's working definition of civil society?

People organizing in groups outside the state; a single individual or friendship group is not yet civil society, which implies a sphere of organized collective action beyond the state.

What is Robertson's analytical definition of civil society (from the slides)?

The framework in which those without political authority live their lives—economic relations, family and kinship structures, religious institutions, etc.—which cannot be clearly separated from political authority because each depends on the other.

What is the liberal (Tocquevillian) view of civil society and democratization?

Civil society is an autonomous, free sphere protected from state and market where people learn civic virtues like tolerance; modern, rights‑based CSOs (human rights, women's rights, labour, environment) are seen as "schools of democracy" that can challenge the state and help democracy consolidate.

How does the Marxist/Gramscian view of civil society differ?

Civil society is seen as an extension of the state apparatus and part of the ideological state apparatus (religious, educational, family, media, culture) that legitimizes and reproduces the status quo rather than challenging it.

What criticisms of the 1990s NGO‑centered civil society boom do the slides highlight?

In developing countries, donor‑funded NGOs can relieve the state of its obligation to provide services, may not produce real development, can be used instrumentally as platforms for political careers, and sometimes exist mainly to capture foreign funds rather than serve citizens

According to your teacher, does civil society exist outside the West?

Yes—if defined as a sphere of organized people joining for a common purpose, civil society exists everywhere, but much of it is not "modern" in the liberal sense, and only modern civil society reliably advances democratization

How do authoritarian states typically treat civil society?

They view it as a challenge, not a source of legitimacy, and therefore subject CSOs to surveillance, pressure, and prosecution, severely restricting room to advocate political change.

What is the slide definition of an interest group, and what are its pros and cons?

An organized group that seeks to influence public policy without seeking election; they foster political participation, inject new ideas, and sustain pluralism, but they can also privilege certain interests at the expense of others or the general public.​

What six features distinguish interest groups in the teacher's table?

- Formal, stable hierarchical organization.

- Relationship to power mainly through pressure.

- Sectoral discourse.

- Institutional (and sometimes non‑conventional) arenas of action.

- Exclusive or private interests.

- Resources centred on expert knowledge

From the slides, how is corporatism summarized and periodized?

Corporatism is state‑coordinated cooperation and compromise between capital and labour; societal corporatism grows from pressure from below, while state corporatism is top‑down and dominating; it was especially important under Keynesian economic management in the 1960s-70s and variants of "organized capitalism" still exist in Germany, France, and the Nordics.

What extra points do the slides add on infrapolitics and subaltern studies?

Scott's infrapolitics covers covert resistance (poaching, squatting, foot‑dragging, folk myths like Robin Hood), and subaltern studies explicitly take an ethical stand: giving voice to the underprivileged and questioning a single Western path to modernity.​

How do the slides define agenda‑setting and framing by the media?

Agenda‑setting is deciding which issues are seen as important and worthy of debate; framing is selecting and emphasizing certain aspects of reality while downplaying others to shape how issues are interpreted (e.g. calling a levy a "death tax" vs "inheritance tax").

What are Schudson's seven democratic functions of the media in the slides?

- Information.

- Investigation of concentrated power.

- Analysis and interpretation.

- Social empathy.

- Public forum.

- Mobilization for causes.

- Publicizing representative democracy by covering institutions and relationships that are often ignored.

What do the slides add about the Internet, smart mobs, and cyber‑cascades?

he Internet enables unprecedented self‑organization, including "smart mobs" that coordinate protests authorities struggle to stop, and "cyber‑cascades" where many people come to believe something—true or false—simply because others they like believe it