The Routledge Dictionary of Politics, Third Edition
Pressure groups are voluntary organizations formed to defend a particular interest group in a society or to promote a cause or political position. These groups can operate in a number of different ways and seek to exert pressure at a number of different points in the political system, but normally they do not themselves directly seek elective office nor put forward a programme covering the whole range of governmental activities.
The sanctions which pressure groups have vary from the strike, which is used by trade unions, and direct action, frequently used by movements which feel marginal to the political system as a whole, to the withdrawal of co-operation by citizens’ groups. Typically the pressure applied by these groups derives more from the publicity generated than from any direct effect of the action. (See also civil disobedience and new social movements).
This is the complete article, containing 142 words
(approx. 1 page at 300 words per page).
View More Summaries on Interest group
