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Chapter by Chapter ResourcesChapter Eight: Pressure politics: civil society, organized interests and new social movement
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There are plenty of other (normally complementary rather than alternative) ways of participating in politics beyond parties and voting. But those that have increased most in recent years tend to be more ad hoc and require little ongoing commitment, while the likelihood of engaging in them varies considerably according to where in Europe people live and their demographic and socio-economic profile.
Pressure groups may be in the business of defending a tangible (often economic or ‘sectional’) interest, or they may promote a cause or ideal. There are now no hard and fast distinctions between the tactics both types use, their choice (and to some extent their success) being based on the political environment (or ‘opportunity structure’) they have to work in.
Some countries institutionalize the relationship between powerful interest groups, especially business and labour – a system labelled corporatism. Others see more advantage in a more arm’s length and ad hoc relationship with groups, all of which have to compete with each other for access and attention – a system labelled pluralism. Most policy areas attract what are known as policy networks of interested groups – networks that are more or less insulated from outside interference. Insulation and influence, however, is not necessarily permanent, as the case of agriculture suggests. Nor is the power of business relative to, say, the trade unions necessarily a done deal.
While ‘rational choice’ explanations would lead one to expect people not to participate in groups that give them nothing tangible that they could not otherwise get, this is clearly not the case. Social movements that see often relatively privileged people mobilizing on behalf of entities that cannot protect or promote themselves have been a persistent, and even growing, feature of European politics – although there are considerable regional variations in the willingness to get involved. We should not, however, draw too big a distinction between such movements, and more conventional political actors, nor between the strategies and tactics both employ, especially as movement organizations are often highly professional operations.
The EU provides a forum for groups representing both sectional interests and social movements. The former are better resourced, and have been quicker on the uptake when it comes to lobbying, at the transnational level. But the European policy process is not necessarily rigged in their favour. Again, however, there are considerable national (or, at least, regional) variations in the extent to which groups are willing and able to operate at this level.
(For general web materials on European Politics see Tim Bale’s Internet Guide)
www.etuc.org
Trade unions in Europe
www.eurochambres.be and www.businesseurope.eu
European business groups
ec.europa.eu/civil_society
Pressure groups and civil society in Europe
www.sociosite.net/topics/activism.php
Social movements
1. Do you think a country needs a healthy civil society and, if so, why? How and why does the level of popular participation in non party political activity vary across Europe?
2. What role do you think cultural and institutional factors play in how a pressure group goes about trying to gain influence?
3. How can we explain the power of the agricultural lobby in European countries? Do you think it will last?
4. Have trade unions all over Europe lost their influence?
5. Does the power of business in European countries depend simply on its importance to the economy?
6. Do you have any sympathy with, or are you actually involved in, the activities of new social movements? If so, why? If not, why not?
7. Do you think that big NGOs with their roots in new social movements remain true to their ethos, or have they become part of the mainstream and even the establishment?
8. Why has lobbying at the EU level become an integral part of most interest groups’ strategies, and why might groups from some countries be more successful at it than others?
9. Do you think Europeanization poses a threat or an opportunity to groups whose aims do not dovetail neatly with liberal capitalism?
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