Module 5 actions.

These have usually been set up by middle

class people guided by the strong desire to contribute
Role of pressure group and NGO’s.
to development. NGOs driven by principles and a spirit
Pressure groups are organized associations, unions or of sacrifice, have contributed immensely to the
organization of people having common interest. Their society.
aim is to seek better conditions for their members
ROLE OF PRESSURE GROUPS
through organized efforts. They try to influence the
legislature, executive and other decision makers to 1.Influencing the government: Group activities are
have decisions made in their favour. generally more effective than individual activities.
Therefore, pressure groups play a vital role in a
According to V.O.Key, a striking feature of American
democratic society in terms of influencing the
politics is the extent to which political parties are
government for expressing the community concern of
supplemented by private associations formed to
a section of society and promote their interest. The
influence public policy. These organisations are
vitality of the pressure groups is mainly determined by
commonly called pressure groups.
their ability to influence the government. Influencing
Broadly speaking pressure groups or organisations are the government involves influencing the public policy
of two categories: Membership Based Organisations decision makers, law makers, implementers of policies
(MBOs) and the Non-Government Organisations and decisions, etc.
(NGOs).
2.Constitutes imp dimensions of the study of politics:
Membership Based Organisations (MBOs): The role of pressure groups is closely connected with
Membership Based Organisations (MBOs) are politics. Here, assumption is that power is an essential
controlled by the people that they serve. MBOs can be element of politics which implies the study of
big or small. The small organisations are run and influence. In this context Harold D. Lasswell in his early
managed by the people. On the other hand, bigger work on politics, uses the subtitle, "who gets what,
organisations hire skilled persons to run the affairs. when, how?" and says that, "the study of politics is
These organisations are active in the various social, the study of influences and influential." In view of this
economic activities of the society. For instance, in understanding, the state of pressure groups in
education, health, sanitation, residential welfare democratic countries constitutes an important
activities, production activities on cooperative line and dimension of the study of politics because the primary
so on, you will find a large number of people’s objective of any pressure group is to influence the
organisations involved in various social activities. government on a specific public policy issue or
Residential welfare associations, consumers’ forum, problem
workers’ organisations and so on are examples of
3.Do not contest elections: Pressure groups do not
pressure groups.
contest elections and they may not have political
Non-Government Organisations are pure voluntary programs. Pressure groups informally attempt to
organisations without any intended benefit to those influence the government on a specific public policy
who control and manage it. NGOs represent civil issue of a section of society.
society and have a social agenda. Thus, an NGO is set
4.Helps in interest formation and interest aggregation:
up to provide a service to the society. Voluntary action
Freedom of association is generally found in all
is the common feature of both types of organisations.
democratic societies. This is required in order to
However, difference between these two organisations
identify and promote common interest or well-being
is that the former is a people’s organisation which is
of the people through the collective activities. This is
controlled and run by the people for whom it is
regarded as the basic factor which tends to the
intended whereas the latter provides service to the
establishment of pressure groups. So, pressure groups
society. Thus, both differ in their constituency
play a crucial role in interest formation and interest
building, the processes involved, target groups,
aggregation.
organisational structure, source of legitimacy and
resource mobilisation. NGOs have played an important 5.Bridge between people and government: Pressure
role in execution of economic policies in our society. In groups play the mediatory role between the people
recent years, NGOs have moved from welfare-oriented and government. They balance the national interest
services to development-oriented perspectives and and interest of individuals.
6.Shapes the interest of people: Generally, interests of pressure groups exhibit certain characteristics in
common.
the common people are not organised. Pressure
groups contribute to give concrete shape to the 1. A fundamental characteristic of pressure
interests of people. This role of pressure groups is groups is that they neither contest elections
significant in interest formation as well as interest nor attempt to directly involve in the
aggregation. The groups have to move demands governmental affairs. Instead, they aim to
before the government based on the difficulties or pressurize government agencies, bureaucrats,
grievances of people. Interest formation may occur and politicians to get public policies in their
through the reactions of groups of people on issues of favour. While doing this political bargaining,
public importance like GATT, Nuclear explosion, pressure groups always try to maintain a
reservation policy, environmental issues, price rise, neutral political position by concentrating on
regional imbalances, rural development program, etc. their specific demands. Therefore, pressure
groups are sometimes considered
7. Converting demands into policy: According to
as 'apolitical' groups.
Gabriel Almond and Bingham Powell, converting the
2. However, they may enter into the arena of
demands into policy alternatives is interest
electoral politics by financing or supporting
aggregation. In this process also, pressure groups play
the party or candidate who they think will
a significant role in terms of identifying possible policy
work in their interests. In this regard, pressure
alternatives or options. They also explain the pros and
groups also try to maintain good relationship
cons of each policy alternative which is a very helpful
with political parties, politicians or high-
information for the policy makers to select the best
ranking executives of the government in order
alternative. This role of pressure groups is to provide
to win their co-operation or support in group's
inputs to public policy making. On the whole, pressure
interests
groups contribute to democratise the public policy
3. Pressure groups however, have no permanent
making and law making.
political affiliation and generally try to keep
8. Representation function: When it is found that their group interest above political interests.
political parties cannot adequately represent the They therefore, wish to win the co operation
aspirations of the people, pressure groups become the of whichever party controls the government
devices for representing the aspirations of the people. of the day.
In this sense, pressure groups perform the 4. Since pressure groups emerged from specific
representation function. sections of the society, their arena of
functioning is generally restricted. However,
9. Plays welfare functions: In a welfare state, the their demands may be many (social, political
growing functions of government may tend to affect or economic) and they may vary from time to
the responsive capability of the political system. time while the group remains intact. This
Besides the members of government may not be able flexibility of demands and objectives is an
to get sufficient time to get all the details of a important characteristic of pressure groups
particular issue of public importance as the political 5. Another characteristic of pressure group is
elites are preoccupied in the political activities. In view their emphasis on the need for a collective
of these, pressure groups are essential to make the approach rather than an individualistic
political system respond to the aspirations of people approach. They believed that group activities
and provide the details of a particular policy issue of are more effective than activities of
public importance to the ruling political elites. This will individuals.
contribute to work out development activities very
effectively. CIVIL SOCIETY, STATE AND SOCIETY

CHARACTERISTICS OF PRESSURE GROUPS Structure

Pressure groups came into existence to serve the  Intro

interest of the community or group they represent. -Society
Therefore, their objectives and demands are different -state
depending upon the collective interest of the -Civil society
particular group. However, despite their differences,  Characteristics of State and civil society
  Relation between society state and civil rule of law, representative institutions, a public
society sphere, and above all a plurality of associations.
Commenting on it, David Held (Models of Democracy)
stated that it retains “a distinctive character to the
The concept ‘society’ is a generic term, the term civil
extent that it is made up of areas of social life …. the
society denotes a type of society particular to a time
domestic world, the economic sphere, cultural
and set in a particular situation. ‘Society’ refers, in
activities and political interaction … which are
general terms, to the totality of ‘social relationships’,
organised by private or voluntary arrangements
conscious or unconscious, deliberate or otherwise.
between individuals, and groups outside the direct
‘Civil Society’, on the other hand, concerns itself to
control of the state.” The concept of civil society came
matters relating to ‘public’. This brings the term ‘civil
up as and when a social community sought to organise
society’ close to the concept of ‘political society’.
itself independently of the specific direction of state
Indeed, the two terms presuppose a society where
power. Historically, the concept, Chandhoke says,
civility is their characteristic feature, but ‘civil society’
“came into existence when the classical political
extends to areas far away from the reach of ‘political
economists sought to control the power of the
society’. The institution of family, for example, is an
Mercantilist State”. With the passage of time, the
area covered by ‘civil society’, but it is a domain where
concept of civil society moved on progressively:
‘political society’ does better to stay away from.
becoming a central plank of democratic movements in
‘Political society’ covers a whole range of activities
eighteenth century
related to ‘political’ directly or indirectly, but it
remains wider than the term ‘state’ when the latter is Characterstics of state and civil society
treated merely as a matter of governance.
State exists within the society. This makes the state
Meaning of state and society analytically distinct. The two are not the
same. Society is a web of social relationships and as
The state, as a word stato, appeared in Italy in the
such, includes the totality of social practices, which
early part of the sixteenth century in the writings of
are essentially plural, but at the same time, are
Machiavelli (1469-1527). The meaning of the state in
relational. The hierarchically organised and
the sense of a body politic became common in
maintained social practices of a given community
England and France in the later part of the sixteenth
establish, in their turn, all kinds of power equations
century. Thus, came the use of the term ‘State’. The
and relations among its members. The state comes in
state has included, from the beginning, a reference to
to give these power relations a fixity, and thereby to
a land and a people, but this alone would not
society its stability. The state gives legitimacy to social
constitute a state. It refers also to a unity, a unity of
relationships as expressed in social practices because
legal and political authority, regulating the
it recognises them and codifies them through legal
outstanding external relationships of man in society,
acts. It is in this sense that the state can be described
existing within society. It is what it does, i.e., creates a
as the codified power of the social formation of a
system of order and control, and for this, is vested
given time.
with the legal power of using compulsion and
coercion. A state, thus, is found in its elaborate The state, as a social relation and also as a codified
system. It is found in its institutions which create laws power in a given society, would have certain
and which enforce them, i.e., in institutions such as characteristics of its own. These characteristics can be
the legislature, the executive and the judiciary. It is stated as: a) The state is a power, organised in itself. It
found in the bureaucratic institutions which are has the power to legitimise social relations and gives
attached to every executive branch of the them recognition through formal codes and
government. It is found in the institutions which are institutions. This gives the state a distinct and
called into operation when its will is challenged, i.e., irreducible status in society while making it
the military and the police. The state is the sum – total autonomous from classes and contending factions
of these institutions. existing in it. b) The state emerges as a set of
specifically political practices which defines binding
Meaning of Civil society
decisions and enforces them, to the extent of
The concept of civil society, to give it a meaning, intervening in every aspect of social life. c) The state
embraces an entire range of assumptions, values and monopolises all means of coercion. No other
institutions, such as political, social and civil rights, the organisation in the society has this power. d) The state
gives fixity to social relations, and social stability to premium on the role of civil society, but this, in no
society. The social order, according to Chandhoke, “is way, diminishes the effectiveness of civil society. The
constituted through the state and exists within the libertarian view, expressed in the writings of Hayek or
parameters laid down by the state.” e) The state exists Nozick, that the state is likely to oppress civil society
within the framework of a given society. As society is, more or less, ill-founded. The fact of the matter is
responds to the changing conditions compelled by that the relationships between state and civil society
numerous social forces, the state responds to the are reciprocal; the relationships are of an integrative
changing society. The state always reflects the nature, each strengthening the cause of the other. It
changing relations of society. As society constantly re- is, infact, difficult to conceive of civil society
enacts itself, so does the state. functioning successfully without the state. We see the
citizen simultaneously constrained by the state and
The liberal and the marxist perspectives of civil society
protected by it. It is the state which provides the
differ drastically. For the liberals, civil society
integrative framework within which the civil society
presupposes democratic states together with the
operates; civil society cannot function properly
accountability of the states, the limits on state power,
without the state. The integrative framework, as
the responsiveness to the spontaneous life and the
expressed in laws and rules, is accepted as valid by all,
interactions of civil society. For the marxists, civil
the framework needs to be administered neutrally and
society is the arena of class conflicts, selfish
in a manner consistent with the shared culture of
competition and exploitation, the state acting to
society. We cannot imagine life without this
protect the interests of the owning classes. A
integrative framework, which creates a degree of
definition of civil society comprising the insights of
coherence and without which civil society is likely to
both the liberals and the marxists must take into
become uncivil. Civil society has to open up, in the
account the following: a) The state power must be
face of the all-powerful state, to challenge the
controlled and it has to become responsive through
bureaucratic devices lest it ends up in rigidity. It is,
democratic practices of an independent civil society
thus, the reciprocity between state and civil society
17 b) Political accountability has to reside not only in
that is significant or at least, should be considered
constitutions, laws, and regulations, but also in the
significant. State power is to be exercised within the
social fabric or what Habermas calls the competence
larger and wider sphere of civil society, and civil
of the ‘political public’ which, in turn, has the
society has to keep state power on its toes so that it
following implications: (i) it implies that the people
does not degenerate into absolutism.
come together in an arena of common concerns, in
debates and discussion and discourse free from state SUMMARY
interference (ii) it implies that the discourse is
State is not mere governance; it is a political
accessible to all (iii) it implies a space where public
community as well. It is, what Gramsci says, the visible
discussion and debate can take place. c) Democratic
political constitution of civil society, consisting of the
norms and processes have to be imbibed in the social
entire complex of activities with which a ruling class
order. d) Civil society is the public sphere of society. It
maintains its dominance, and the ways in which it
is the location of these processes by which the
manages to win the consent of those over which it
experiences of individuals and communities, and the
rules. It is, in other words, a complex of institutions
expression of experiences in debates and discussions,
and practices resting upon the nodal points of power
affirmation and constitution are mediated. It is also a
in civil society. It is a social relation and as such, it is
theatre where “the dialectic between the private and
the codified power of social formation. Civil society
the public are negotiated. It is the process by which
consists of the entire range of assumptions, values and
society seeks to “breach” and counteract the
institutions such as political, social and civil rights, the
simultaneous “totalisation” unleashed by the state”
rule of law, representative institutions, a public sphere
State and Civil Society: Integrative Relationship and above all, a plurality of associations. The two
concepts, state and civil society, have grown over time
State and civil society are not two opposite concepts.
and along with them, their characteristics also
One does not stand in conflict with another. Neither is
developed. They have stood in relation to each other,
one the anti-thesis of the other. The two should not
each giving another a corresponding value. With the
be regarded as usurping the area of each other. It is
emergence of political economy and liberalism, civil
not a zero-sum game relationship between the two.
society got a definite connotation, especially in
Indeed, the relatively stronger state would put a
relation to the state. State and civil society are closely
related to each other. The state cannot be imagined
without civil society, and civil society cannot be
thought of without the state. The two exist in
integrative relationships. The state, in democratic
systems, protects civil society and civil society
strengthens the state. In dictatorial regimes, the state
controls the civil society