Interest Group Activity: Is it Indespensible
Instructions for the Written Assignment
Teitelbaum and Wilensky reference the inability of interest groups to actually pass laws but note their ability to influence policy in many ways. In his 1980 book on the policymaking process, Charles E. Lindblom references “interest group activity” that can actually be performed by individuals but notes whether by individual or group, the influence of this activity on policymaking is “indispensable”. He concludes this based upon a freedom to organize and exert influence but also related to the link between interest group activity and “specific policy-making functions”. In this written assignment, you will have an opportunity to demonstrate how such interest group activity has influenced policymaking and whether it can indeed be considered “indispensable” to it.
Assignment –
Examine an already enacted or proposed health policy and evaluate the influence of interest group activity on the shaping of the policy process and its final policy formation (if already enacted). There are many health policies that you could select for purposes of this written assignment. Here are just a few examples: drug pricing, e-cigarettes, health access (Medicare for All), opioid epidemic, vaccine hesitancy, telehealth, rural health care, surprise medical billing. There are many more.
In a well developed and fully substantiated written paper, critically consider the following points:
- Who and/or what entities comprised the interests related to the policy?
- At what stage of the policy process did they exert the most influence?
- What were the persuasive arguments that they used in an attempt to persuade policymakers on the issue(s)?
- What policymakers were key to these persuasive attempts, in other words, whose ears were interests attempting to catch?
- Were there any “grassroots” or “grasstops” strategies used? Coalitions?
- How did special interests utilize media campaigns or PACs in an attempt to influence the process?
- Do you think that the use of interest group activity provides an opportunity for interactive problem solving on the policy level? How was this the case with your selected policy?
- What are some potential dangers associated with interest group policy influence?
- Present a well-developed conclusion about the roles interest groups plays in these processes.
NOTE: Your Written Submission should be a total of 4 pages in length and should contain a Bibliography citing resources using the APA Citation Style. Be sure to check all spelling and grammar as these are considered for evaluation purposes. Your response should reflect sound critical thinking related to the questions posed by the assignment, fully substantiated with the use of academic resources.
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