Special Interests Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 5

Special Interests - Essay Example The relationship between political parties and interest groups is also discussed and the clear aims of the interest groups towards the making of policies are outlined. Interest groups also influence the president and the congress in the making of policies. This happens through the employment of lobbyists, most of whom are former government employees. The structure of the American government invites the participation of interest groups at various stages of policy making. Citizens have formed groups and elect representatives in their neighborhoods or cities, and lobby the city council and their state government. Keywords: Interest Group, Political Party, Lobby, Lobbyist, President, Congress, Policy, Policy Making, Legislators, Government 1. Define an interest group, with examples There has been a lot of confusion when it comes to getting the clear understanding of what interest groups are. This confusion occurs when people think that the interest groups are those that are primarily par t of an existing political party, and are politically active. This understanding fails to acknowledge the many numbers of non-membership organizations that are active in politics, like business or law firms that are not affiliated to any political party. An interest group refers to any non-Party organization that involves itself in political activity in order to influence public policy and in turn gain favors. An interest group is usually a formally organized group or association that seeks to influence public policy. The interest groups share a desire of affecting government policies, in order to benefit their cause or themselves. There are examples of interest groups in America like the American Red Cross; inasmuch as it is not political in nature and in as much as some of their time is spent in helping the needy people, some of their time is spent in trying to influence the government (Nownes, 2013). Interest groups are of different categories; there are those that are known as e conomic interest groups whose main aim is on the side of the economy like the business interest groups and public employees’ unions. Also, there is another category known as a public interest group that is concerned with the overall community and national good, rather than the narrow interest of a particular group. Despite the different types of interest groups that exist, they have characteristics that bind them together and make them to be referred to as interest groups (Bardes, Shelley, & Schmidt, 2010). These characteristics are as follows: They are organized. A group is not considered an interest group if it is not organized, this means that it should have a budget, employers, and at times an office (Nownes, 2013). Should not be affiliated to any political party. This means that it should not be formally part of any political party (Nownes, 2013). They are involved in political activity. The main difference between interest groups and other groups is that, the interest g roups are known to lobby, this means that they attempt to influence the government decisions (Nownes, 2013). The following are some of the examples of the major groups that can be termed as interest groups. Profit business firms. These are enterprises that make, buy and sell goods and services for profit. Many of them have an interest in politics and government because the government is involved in policy making, and thus they must look for ways that will ensure that those policies favor them in