US interest groups v UK pressure groups

RIGHTS PROTECTION

METHODS

US more effective

parties in the UK are more united than in the US and so civil-rights-based interest groups have more success in persuading legislative politicians in Congress

US civil rights groups have a greater choice of institutions to lobby while UK civil rights groups that fails to convince government will find it harder to achieve success in parliament

stronger levels of rights protections in the US means groups have greater prominence

UK has a stronger tradition of respecting civil rights than in the US so groups have more success as there is more concern here for respecting minority rights

similarities

differences

in the US, legal methods are more attractive to interest groups than in the UK due to constitutional sovereignty and the power of the US SC

both use lobbying

both use direct action and demonstrations

ACCESS POINTS

PARTIES

ELECTIONS

because power is concentrated in the hands of the government, the only groups that gain power are those that can influence the government (insider pressure groups)

there are more access points in the US system because the separation of powers and federalism create a multitude of power centres

In the UK it is highly unlikely that an environmental campaign group would be able to unseat any of their target MPs in a general election. It is also hard to imagine a UK version of the US League of Conservation Voters

Electioneering is far more intense in the US, where it can be a highly effective method

Stricter party discipline in the UK means that MPs are strongly accountable to political leaders - Interest groups know it will be difficult to persuade individual MPs to vote against the party line

The lack of powerful party leaders (caused largely by the separation of powers and primaries) allows US pressure groups to influence legislative politicians more than those in the UK.