“Pressure groups in the USA promote democracy and widen opportunity” Discuss. (45) The political system in the US is arguably the most democratic in the world‚ with an unprecedented number of access points. As a result‚ there are more PGs‚ operating at more levels of government and with more impact in the US than any other political system. There are many PGs in the US that work to promote democracy‚ such as the ACLU who work to defend civil liberties and Common Cause who exist to hold government
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Pressure groups are organisations of people who all believe in the same cause. Whether it is a sectional group‚ campaigning for personal gain‚ or a cause group‚ working towards a specific cause‚ they all possess strongly held views and wish to influence some aspect of society. Pressure groups try to gain public support and sympathy for their cause in the hope that they will influence people’s decisions or lives‚ depending on the issue they are focusing on‚ usually this is done via the media and especially
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To what extent do pressure groups promote pluralist democracy in the UK? A pluralist democracy is an even dispersal of power‚ by definition democracy is pluralist‚ however the UK democratic system is considered to have a uneven centre of power in government‚ this disproportionate concentration of power is usually addressed through pressure groups that seek to maintain the freedom of association. However some pressure groups are seen to undermine pluralism in a democracy this may be due to their
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Pressure groups in USA A pressure group is an organised interest group in which members hold similar beliefs and actively pursue ways to influence government. Unlike political parties‚ which seek to win control of government‚ pressure groups are principally interested in influencing those who determine policy. Pressure groups in the US operate at all levels of government be it federal‚ state and local and seek to bring their influence to bear on all three branches of government. There are wide
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functions of pressure groups Pressure groups are a vital part of a healthy democracy. Indeed the sustained and rapid expansion of pressure group activity and involvement in the political process is often heralded as a sign of growing political involvement among many thousands of people. Among the role played by pressure groups‚ large and small‚ we can identify the following: Pressure groups Promote discussion and debate and mobilise public opinion on key issues Performa a role in educating citizens
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Pressure groups have many features about them that determine whether they are democratic or undemocratic. If we have to determine whether Pressure Groups benefit democracy or not‚ we have to know what part they play in our society. As we know‚ pluralists have a very positive view on pressure group politics; believing that they promote healthy debate and discussion. This is true in some aspects of society and our democracy‚ but pressure groups also have many undemocratic features about them. Firstly
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Democracy‚ a form of government in which all eligible citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Democracy in west is what makes Britain and other countries appealing to those living in countries without it‚ meaning it is important to uphold the laws of democracy so that a potentially fragile system does not crumble under social pressures and movements. Some argue that direct action is a right‚ coinciding with freedom within democracy‚ and feel it is the only way in this
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Pluralist democracy works with numerous organised groups who all have some political power in the decision-making setting. It assumes that it’s ‘neutral’ government who listens to‚ and acts on the outcomes of these competing interests. Thus the large number and operation of pressure groups is considered to be a vital element in the promotion of pluralist democracy. There are considerations that pressure groups strengthen pluralist democracy. An argument for this encompasses that the existence of
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A pressure group is an association that may be formal or informal‚ whose purpose it is to further the interests of a specific section of society or to promote a particular cause. Pressure groups normally fall under 3 classifications‚ sectional which represent a specific section of the public‚ e.g. Age UK‚ promotion which promotes a particular cause‚ e.g. Greenpeace and finally dual-function who are a combination of both sectional and promotional‚ e.g. Countryside Alliance. Pressure groups can also
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fallen‚ that of pressure groups has increased. In the voluntary sector alone‚ one third of the population is involved in regular work for organisations‚ several of which can be described as a pressure group. They are organised groups that don’t put up candidates for election‚ but seek to influence government policy or legislation. These organisations are also described as interest groups‚ lobby groups‚ or protest groups. The term pressure group can inadvertently be interpreted as groups that use actual
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