Interest Group

The Interest of a Group

The term interest constitutes the heart of the notion interest groups. Common interest is considered the constituent element of a group. According to one of the founding fathers of the pluralist approach of collective action, David B. Truman, social groups are the origin of politics. The group socializes the individual and offers the prism through which the individual perceives the world. Latent or unorganized groups mobilize when their members' interests are concerned, which guarantees that no group can exercise its domination forever. Thus, the groups control and neutralize each other. This approach faces at least two problems: First, it implicitly assumes that all interest groups have the same probability to emerge, and second, that to create an interest group, a common interest must exist. Mancur Olson's work opposed the second assumption particularly: Instead of leading to collective action, the existence of common interests leads to common inaction. Based on the hypothesis of a rational actor, Olson shows that the free-rider phenomenon applies to every collective action. To create interest groups, Olson proposes the appeal to incentives, positive and negative. Negative incentives are understood as costs imposed on actors in the case of noncompliance. This can be the refusal to exercise one's profession, as in the case of the British Dockers if they are not trade union members. Positive incentives concern the offer of economic and social advantages such as a guaranteed assistance of a lawyer in case of work problems.

The Group as Organized Entity

The second element that needs a closer look is the notion of an organized group. In this sense, interest groups are voluntary associations of joiners. They have members, either formal ones who sign up or informal supporters who routinely show up to assist their organization. Thus, an organized group is distinct from a movement or a latent group. However, it is important not to overestimate this organizational principle. Empirical research has shown that social movements or latent groups can be organized and hierarchically structured and are therefore only distinct from interest groups by name. It is important not to overestimate the [Page 463]rigor, the transparency, and the foreseeable nature of interest group behavior. The organizational structure must be placed on a continuum of more or less structured situations. Thus, a certain number of transnational nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) are organized as real enterprises.

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