Do Interest Groups Affect the Democratic Legitimacy of Policymaking?
From environmental issues to corporate advocacy, interest groups are playing an increasing role in UK politics. Interest groups have brought many successes and are thought to be instrumental in increasing democratic legitimacy. (Rasmussen and Reher, 2022) However, due to the over-representation of business interests among pressure groups, questions have arisen as to whether the voices of these select few hold more influence than the voices of ordinary citizens. With this in mind, it is important to acknowledge that while interest groups can bolster democratic legitimacy, the actions of these groups also have the power to erode it.
For decades issues have been raised regarding the dominance of business groups over cause-based groups, the conduct of these interest groups, and more, raising concerns that their participation in the political process may not be entirely beneficial. (Rasmussen and Reher, 2022) These concerns elevated this issue to become the subject of much study by academics, which has shed some light on questions still surrounding these groups today.
One such study was performed by Marcel Hanegraaf and Joost Berkhout in 2019. Noting that public worry regarding potential bias towards business interest groups in politics exists not just in the United Kingdom, but also throughout the Europe, this study conducted research across the EU to assess whether equal participation of business and civilian interest groups exists. Business interest groups outnumber other types of interest groups across Europe. The study’s findings did note that business interest groups have more resources than citizen interest groups, including representatives which search for issues relevant to business interests. However, it found that business groups were less participatory on issues of high salience, favoring issues that are slightly less high-profile but also have a large scope. In contrast, the study showed that citizens interest groups had an advantage appealing to issues of higher salience as their messages are more widely received by the media and the public than advocacy by business interest groups. (Hanegraaff and Berkhout, 2018)
(Hanegraaff and Berkhout, 2018)
Despite the findings of this study, many other issues throw interest groups’ potential effects on democratic legitimacy in the UK into further question. One such issue is the improper conduct of some groups. One example happened in January of 2006 when Fathers 4 Justice announced that they had expelled some members who had considered seeking publicity for their cause by kidnapping the five-year-old son of Tony Blair. Although the group disbanded shortly after, it re-formed not long after and resumed its political advocacy. (Jeffrey, 2006)
This issue is just one among many which demonstrate that the relationship between interest groups and the legitimacy of democratic processes in the United Kingdom holds deeper complexities. Just as many rightfully worry that the resources business interest groups possess can overpower citizens’ voices, the access citizen interest groups have to the media can also be exploited to undermine healthy democracy. (Garnett and Lynch, 2013) Despite this, much of democratic legitimacy lies in public opinions on the strength of these institutions.
One study by Anne Rasmussen and Stefanie Reher in 2022 measured the public perceptions of the influence which interest groups have on democratic legitimacy. The results of the research showed that citizens were concerned with unequal representation among interest groups, favoring cause-based groups due to perceptions that they have fewer resources than business groups while aligning more frequently with the wider public interest. The study also showed that citizens largely base their perceptions of democratic legitimacy on representative equality. The researchers found that merely adopting policies that reflect the views of under-represented groups is not enough. To maintain public respect for these processes, these groups must consistently be given a seat at the table where decisions are made. (Rasmussen and Reher, 2022)
While this research is effective at measuring both the past and current attitudes towards this issue, one important question remains.
What could this mean for democratic legitimacy in the future?
The current landscape of politics is full of many novel, highly salient issues which hold both public and economic interest, potentially foreshadowing increased convergence of these types of interest groups in the future. Increased debates on wide-reaching matters such as policy regarding various wars, environmental concerns, Brexit issues, and more are bringing the interests of both citizens and businesses who are likely to feel impacts to the same negotiating tables in ways which are seldom seen. With this in mind, it is possible that the behaviors of interest groups may not fully align with those measured during different political climates.
Despite this possibility, the information above shows that there are 3 key criteria which need to be met to ensure democratic legitimacy: cause-based interest groups should not exploit their media advantage to undermine political processes, business-based interest groups should not overpower cause-based groups with their increased resources, and equality in representation should not fall below levels that could produce public mistrust in these institutions. (Rasmussen and Reher, 2022) As the stakes of current global politics are at a relative high, likely drawing increased interest from both civilians and businesses, it is imperative to ensure that conduct of interest groups remains fair and appropriate, maintaining the democratic legitimacy of political processes.
References:
Dunleavy, P., Park, A. and Taylor, R. eds., (2018). The UK’s Changing Democracy: the 2018 Democratic Audit. [online] London, United Kingdom: LSE Press. Available at: https://press.lse.ac.uk/site/books/10.31389/book1/read/?loc=10_Chapter03.xhtml [Accessed 16 Feb. 2024].
Garnett, M. and Lynch, P. (2013). Exploring British Politics. 3rd ed. [online] New York, NY: Routledge, pp.561–565. Available at: https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/qub/reader.action?docID=1702344 [Accessed 18 Feb. 2024].
Hanegraaff, M. and Berkhout, J. (2018). More business as usual? Explaining business bias across issues and institutions in the European Union. Journal of European Public Policy, 26(6), pp.843–862. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/13501763.2018.1492006.
Jeffery, S. (2006). Fathers 4 Justice Founder Ends Campaign. [online] The Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2006/jan/18/pressandpublishing.immigrationpolicy [Accessed 17 Feb. 2024].
Rasmussen, A. and Reher, S. (2022). (Inequality in) Interest Group Involvement and the Legitimacy of Policy Making. British Journal of Political Science, [online] 53(1), pp.45–64. doi:https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007123422000242.
This blog post provides data to bolster their question on whether interest groups affect the democratic legitimacy of policymaking. It discusses how cause-based interest groups, who are seeking policy change to further something they believe in have been positive in multiple instances. Although not mentioned, some important groups include the National Trust or the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, who have brought important issues to politicians in a bid to enact change. Pressure from these interest groups allows individuals who truly believe in a cause to make a difference in Parliament, and whose collective voices can bring legitimacy to the significance of certain issues. However, groups which are primarily formed for business and by business, as noted in the post, have access to a much larger amount of resources and money. This can result in them being able to affect the political process much more quickly and override the democratic process via these means. These business groups often have well-developed government liaison units, media experts and access to professional lobbyists, which compared to NGO and cause-based groups gives them an upper hand which is hard to counteract. Therefore, they are at times able to affect the democratic process as they have access to departments and individuals that are smaller, charitable groups will not. Overall, this blog post provides a good insight to how different types of interest groups affect democratic legitimacy, and the sources used are effective in getting their argument across.
This blog post was very interesting in both presenting the risks associated with large corporate lobbying and interest groups with easy access to government figures as well with how differently public and popular interest groups are portrayed in the media and by the general electorate. The example used of Fathers4justice shows a clearly well written blog as do the multiple surveys which have been used presenting a well sourced and evidenced piece. The issue of popular interest groups and the media attention they receive was substantial but could have included more on the impact that a single celebrity endorsement could have on the coverage of a particular issue. An interesting example is that of Joanna Lumley’s work on the Gurkha Justice Campaign and the significant media coverage that she allowed the issue to receive. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-14866910
This blog post offers a detailed examination of the impact of interest groups on the democratic legitimacy of decisions. However, it might enrich the topic by delving into the contrast between public-benefit and private-benefit interest groups. Public-benefit groups, which fight for issues affecting the general welfare, such as protecting the environment or public health, frequently seek to rectify market failures or tackle collective concerns, which could improve democratic legitimacy by representing neglected or minority interests.
In contrast, private-benefit interest groups, which serve fewer corporate or individual interests, occasionally impede democratic processes by prioritising profit over public good, particularly when their campaigns for change result in legislation that benefits only a few at the cost of the many. One example is the fossil fuel industry’s lobbying efforts, which have been demonstrated to delay environmental legislation to benefit the sector, despite strong public backing for environmentally sustainable practices.
Integrating these differences into the post would provide a deeper comprehension of how various sorts of interest groups can influence democratic legitimacy in different ways, as well as greater clarity of their complicated role in determining public policy.