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The survival of interest groups: evidence from Germany
[journal article]
Abstract
Interest groups are important intermediary organisations that function as a transmission belt between societal interests and political decision-makers. However, while some interest groups survive over decades, others only last a few years. This article argues that the survival of interest groups dep... view more
Interest groups are important intermediary organisations that function as a transmission belt between societal interests and political decision-makers. However, while some interest groups survive over decades, others only last a few years. This article argues that the survival of interest groups depends on their ability to mobilise resources which is crucially affected by interest group type and the public salience of an interest group’s policy domain. The theoretical expectations are tested based on a novel dataset mapping the survival of 1699 interest groups registered at the German Bundestag between 1974 and 2012. Using event history analysis, it is shown that interest group type and public salience indeed affect whether interest groups survive. Sectional groups last significantly longer than cause groups, and interest group survival increases with the public salience of their policy area. The results have major implications for our understanding of interest groups and political representation in contemporary democracies.... view less
Keywords
Bundestag; lobby; public opinion; Federal Republic of Germany; pressure group; representation; resources; decision making; longitudinal study; pressure-group politics; policy area; intermediary organization; representation of interests
Classification
Political Process, Elections, Political Sociology, Political Culture
Free Keywords
Interest groups; cause groups; sectional groups; survival analysis; interest representation; Politbarometer
Document language
English
Publication Year
2020
Page/Pages
p. 1436-1454
Journal
West European Politics, 43 (2020) 7
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1080/01402382.2019.1662634
ISSN
1743-9655
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed
Licence
Creative Commons - Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0