Question

Parties and Interest Groups

How do political parties differ from interest groups? What is the role (or function) of political parties in the USA, and how does this compare to the role (or function) of interest groups? Get involved with some in-depth discussion. Feel free to make comparisons regarding parties in other countries if you have this knowledge.

please cite everything, you write.

Answer 1

Answer:-

Interest groups and Political Parties

Just as in a family where everyone is related and shares common characteristics, there are still notable differences between members. I myself am a twin and while my brother and I share many of the same characteristics, we are still very much unique in our own ways. The same can be said of the relationship between political parties and interest groups. While both play prominent roles in our government, they differ slightly in some key ways. These similarities and differences can be seen in three main areas:

1. Their purpose
2. The internal politics of each group
3. The method for accomplishing their goals

Political parties and interest groups are entities that act as intermediaries between the population and the political sphere.

Groups and parties bring together people with similar ideas and visions on specific or broader issues, including economics, migration, taxes, welfare, healthcare, and so on.

Although political parties and interest groups are quite different, but they are both means through which citizens can deepen their knowledge on political and social issues and can become informed voters.

In general Difference is :-

1.political parties aim at winning elections and focus on various issues, while interest groups do not participate in the electoral process but are deeply involved in lobbying and are generally focused on one or two specific issues.

2.A political party exists to gain power through elections by supporting one or more candidates. For instance, in the United States, Republicans and Democrats are the two main political parties and, every four years, new (or old) candidates are put forward by the two parties to run for elections

while Interest groups do not run for elections and do not necessarily support individual candidates.

3.Political parties focus on a variety of issues, including:

• Social welfare;
• Equality of rights;
• Gun control;
• Taxes;
• Foreign relations; and
• Health care.

While, Interest groups can include:

• Corporations;
• Businesses;
• Labor unions;
• Social groups; and
• Student unions.

4.Political parties are more flexible than interest groups as they aim at achieving the support of the majority of their population in order to maximize their chances of winning elections. Conversely, interest groups are not flexible but focus on one issue (i.e. gun control) and promote their ideas trying to unite like-minded people;

5.The size of political parties does not necessarily affect their chances of winning elections; conversely, the size of an interest group has a strong influence on the group’s ability to gain influence and to promote its views

Their Functions:-

In brief, the main functions of political parties are:

(i) to assess the problems facing the country and suggest alternative suggestions,

(ii) to educate the people in regard to these problems and stimulate them for political action (political socialization),

(iii) to mobilize the people to participate in decision-making and party programmes

(iv) to critically evaluate the policies and programmes of other parties,

(v) to mobilize the votes of non-members in elections, and

(vi) to modify the goals, if necessary.

We can broadly study the functions and role of pressure groups under the following heads:

(1) Interest groups and interest articulation :- The first step in political process is the making of demands upon the political decision-makers by the people. This is done by them through their groups. Groups bring the claims of the people to the notice of the decision-makers,

while Political Party are those who actually satisfy their demands by policy making.

(2) Interest groups as agents of political socialisation, participation, political communication and recruitment,:-
Pressure groups are agents of political socialisation in so far as they influence the orientations of the people
towards the political process, Similarly, these groups play a vital role as two-way communication links between the people and the government.

(3) Interest groups and elections,:- To contest elections is the function of the political parties and not of the pressure groups. Pressure groups, by nature are non-partisan groups

(4) Interest groups and activities of political parties, :- The latter are always at work to influence the policies and activities of a political party (usually the majority party) or parties in such a way as can help them to secure their interests.

(5) Interest groups and legislation, :- Interest/Pressure groups play a vital role in the legislative process, not only as important structures of interest articulation, but also as active agencies engaged in lobbying with the legislators for securing desired laws or amendments in laws and policies of the government

Political Parties vs Interest Groups : Comparison Table

Building on the differences highlighted in the previous section, we can identify few other aspects that can differentiate political parties from interest groups:

	Political Parties	Interest Groups
Political participation	Political parties are deeply involved in the electoral process and in the political sphere of the country. They run political campaigns and support one (or more) of their members in the run for office.	Interest groups are involved in the political sphere of the country but they do not directly participate in elections, although they can support one candidate or one political party that shares their point of view.
Independence	Political parties are often accused of prioritizing the interests of influent individuals or rich corporations that support their political campaigns with generous donations.	Interest groups try to raise money and awareness to promote their ideas and engage in lobbying activities, but are often more independent than political parties – although they can be employed by corporations or politicians to promote a specific (and manipulated) view.