? starter activity

1
? starter activity
Drawing on your studies at AS and using the
extract provided, identify why there is so much
pressure group activity in the USA? ? Do they
benefit or suffer from theories of party renewal
or decline? Read Bennett p.151-3 and supplement
your notes
2
Benefits of pressure groups

• Increase representation - different groups in USA
• Increase political participation
• Public education e.g. environment gun control
• Agenda building set legislation in motion
  bring interests together, e.g. business
  politicians
• Programme monitoring - put pressure on all 3
  branches of government (exec, judiciary
  legislature)

3
Why does the US have so many pressure groups?
? Key words pluralism elitism political
party v. pressure group
? Learning objectives

• TBAT evaluate the strength of theories of
  pluralism v elitism
• TBAT describe the difference between
  institutional membership PGs

4
? Your task

• Read p.149 on pluralism and make a note of the
  following.
• Evidence that the US is a country founded on
  elitism
• Evidence that the US is a country founded on
  pluralism

5
Elitism

• James Madison pluralism a threat to a stable
  secure democracy
• Madison (Founding Father) preferred a Republican
  government hedged by checks and balances
• C.Wright Mills, The Power Elite (1956) US
  governed by a small elite

James Madison, 1751-1836
6
Pluralism

• David Truman, The Governmental Process (1951)
  politics was all about how different groups
  interacted with each other
• Robert Dahl, Who Governs? power based on
  pluralism, e.g. political nominations, urban
  redevelopment public education democracy was
  all about compromise

7
Which theory best describes the US today? ?What
about the UK?
8
? Extension task

• Read the extract on pluralism and note down
  evidence to support the view the US is a
  pluralist society. Create a spider diagram and
  record explain the 5 key characteristics of a
  pluralistic society.

9
? Your task

• Study Bennett p.150-1 and the extract from the
  student workbook and try to categories the
  different pressure groups accordingly.

? What are some potential pitfalls with Robert
McKeevers model?
10
? Your task

• Produce a short ppt (5 sides max, 20 words max
  per slide) 1 A4 handout on one of the pressure
  groups on the next slide.
• You must try to explain how they fulfil each of
  the 5 key functions of PGs
• Representation
• Citizen participation
• Public education
• Agenda building
• Programme monitoring

?Find a comparable PG in the UK and assess
whether it fulfils the 5 functions as well as its
US counterpart
11
? Homework

• Complete your presentation for homework.
• ?Complete the reading extension task

No pressure!
12
Why does the US have so many pressure groups?
? Key words pluralism elitism political
party v. pressure group
? Learning objectives

• TBAT evaluate the strength of theories of
  pluralism v elitism
• TBAT describe the difference between
  institutional membership PGs

? Plenary