Interest groups
Also known as: advocacy groups, pressure groups
Interest groups are organizations of people who share policy goals and work to influence government decisions. Unlike political parties, they do not run candidates for office; they shape policy through lobbying, litigation, and mobilizing members.
An interest group is an organized association — such as the AARP, the NRA, the Sierra Club, or the US Chamber of Commerce — whose members share common policy goals and act together to influence government. Unlike political parties, interest groups do not nominate candidates or seek to run the government; their aim is to shape specific policy outcomes.
Interest groups use several core tactics. Lobbying is the most direct: professional lobbyists provide legislators and bureaucrats with information, draft language, and testimony, trading policy expertise for access. Groups also litigate, filing lawsuits and amicus curiae briefs to influence courts; mobilize grassroots campaigns that pressure officials through constituent letters, calls, and protests; and form political action committees (PACs) that contribute money to sympathetic candidates.
Interest groups face a classic collective action problem known as the free-rider problem: people can benefit from a group's policy wins without joining or contributing, so groups offer selective benefits — discounts, publications, professional networking — to attract members. Their influence also flows through long-standing relationships with congressional committees and agencies, often described as iron triangles or broader issue networks.
Interest groups are a major topic in the political participation unit of the AP US Government and Politics exam. Be able to distinguish interest groups from political parties, explain lobbying and the free-rider problem, and describe how groups interact with the bureaucracy through iron triangles and issue networks.
Key takeaways
- Interest groups are organizations that seek to influence public policy without running candidates for office.
- Core tactics include lobbying, litigation and amicus briefs, grassroots mobilization, and PAC contributions.
- The free-rider problem leads groups to offer selective benefits to attract and keep members.
- Iron triangles describe the mutually beneficial relationships among interest groups, congressional committees, and bureaucratic agencies.
- AP US Government tests the distinction between interest groups and parties, lobbying tactics, and the free-rider problem.