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Interest Groups (China (the party-state tries to preempt the formation of…
Interest Groups
China
organized interest groups and social movements are not permitted to influence the political process unless they are under the party-state authority
the party-state tries to preempt the formation of independent groups by forming mass organizations in which people may express their points of view within strict limits
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most factory workers belong to the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, and women's interests are represented in the All-China Women's Federation
in urban areas, the party maintains social control through danwei
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the danwei system was crucial to implementing the one child policy, since workers not complying with the policy could have their pay docked or incentives withheld
the role of the work unit has changed, so that by the early 21st century, the power of the work unit has diminished as more private enterprises developed, including multinational corporations
in the last 25 years China has gone from having virtually no independent groups of any kind to more than 300,000 nongovernmental organizations
these organizations and the state's relationship with them reflect state corporatism, as well as the logic of Lenin's democratic centralism
most organizations are created, or at least approved, by the tate, and many have government officials as their leaders
in cases where two groups with similar interests exist in a community, local officials will force them to merge or will disband one in favor of the other
this practice prevents competition between the associations and limits how many associations are allowed to exist, making it easier for the state to monitor and control them
Russia
interest groups were only allowed in the Soviet Union under state corporatism and were controlled by the government
decision-making took place within the Central Committee and the Politburo, and if any outside contacts influenced policy, they generally were confined to members of the Communist Party
when market capitalism replaced centralized economic control in 1991, the state-owned industries were up for grabs, and those that bought them for almost nothing were generally insiders who had become quite wealthy
this collection of oligarchs may be defined loosely as an interest group because they have been a major influence on the policymaking process during the formative years of the Russian Federation
the power of the oligarchy became obvious during the last year of Boris Yeltsin's first term as president of the Russian Federation
the tycoons were tied closely to members of the Yeltsin's family, particularly his daughter
together they took advantage of Yeltsin's inattention to his presidential duties, and soon monopolized Russian industries and built huge fortunes
one of the best known oligarchs was Boris Berezovsky, who admitted in 1997 that he and six other entrepreneurs controlled over half of the Russian GNP
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state corporatism
Under Putin's leadership state corporatism, where the state determines which groups have input into policymaking, has become well established
the Russian government has established vast, state-owned holding companies in automobile and aircraft manufacturing, shipbuilding, nuclear power, diamonds, titanium, and other industries
if companies appear to be too independent or too rich the government has not forced owners to cell, ut has cited legal infractions to force sales
Mexico
the corporatist structure generally responds pragmatically to the demands of interest groups through accommodation and co-optation
as a result, political tension among major interests have rarely escalated into the kinds of serious conflict that can threaten stability
because private organizations have been linked for so long to the government, Mexico's development of a separate civil society has been slow
under state corporatism, these business elites have become quite wealthy, but they were never incorporated into PRI
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the power of union bosses is declining, partly because unions are weaker than in the past, and partly because union members are more independent
today with PAN recently controlling the presidency, business interests may exhibit more characteristics of neo-corporatism, but there is no clear evidence that businesses are controlling the government
One powerful interest group is the Educational Workers' Union, Latin America's largest trade union
It has long had the power to negotiate salaries for teachers each year, and many see it as a neo-corporatist group that has a great deal of power over government decisions in education
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Iran
Since political parties are ill-defined in Iran, it is often difficult to draw the line between parties and interest groups
A large number of groups have registered with the government, including an Islamic Association of Women and a Green Coalition
The parties in exile, such as the National Front, the Liberation Movement, and the Mojahedin also have members still in Iran that work for their benefit
An important interest group for factory workers is called Worker's House, that operates with the help of its affiliated newspaper, Karva Kargar
Their political party, Islamic Labor Party, backed Khatami in the 2000 election, but its coalition with other reform parties was broken up by the Guardian Council's banning of reformist candidates in 2004 and 2005
Workers' House holds a May Day rally most years, and in 1999 the rally turned into a protest when workers marched to parliament to denounce conservatives for watering down labor laws
When bus drivers joined the protest, most of central Tehran was shut down
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Few interest groups have formed for business because private businesses have been crowded out since the Revolution of 1979, when many were taken over by the government
Agriculture, internal trade, and distribution are mostly in private hands, but the government controls between 65% and 80% of the economy