Public Interest Groups And The Political Decision Making Process Of The United States Of America

American public interest groups, as an increasingly important and unique phenomenon in American society, has attracted the attention of many political scientists and aroused debates across the country.Public interest groups, as the name implies, are organizations that are united through the convergence of moral beliefs and motivated to take political actions for the attainment of the good for the public in general. To examine public interest groups, the environment in which these groups exist must be analyzed. The American democratic political structure has provided the amenities for the origins and development of public interest groups, such as the Constitutional protection embodied in Amendment I, the limited representative government, and the federal governmental system. All these amenities have combined to create a favorable environment for the active political participation of public interest groups.These groups serve as the vehicles for the representation of public opinions to governmental organs. Through the advocacy efforts of the public interest groups, public opinions are voiced and reflected in governmental policies. In this process, the public are better educated on political issues and the political participation procedure and the governmental decision-making is more open and transparent. Consequently, the democratic politics in the United States is considerably enhanced.Public interest groups and American democratic politics hinge upon each other and promote the further development of each other. However, there are drawbacks to both parts. Public interest groups, as they act to voice the opinions of the underrepresented, may clash with one another due to conflicting interests, which would cause the waste of political resources and impede the smooth decision-making process of the government. The often oligarchic structure within the public interest groups would affect the direct representation of public opinions. The regulation of the Internal Revenue Code has severely constrained the activities of public interest groups. They still need to overcome these shortcomings to achieve greater development. This paper is divided into six chapters. The first chapter introduces the topic and describes the research status and purpose of the paper.The second chapter presents the definition and origins of public interest groups. The third chapter probes into the US democratic system and analyzes the institutional amenities provided by the democratic system for the lobbying activities of interest groups. The fourth chapter demonstrates how public interest groups muscle the resources available to them, utilize them and take an active part in the governmental decision-making process. The fifth chapter provides an overview of the implications of public interest groups and US democratic development. This thesis is concluded by the sixth chapter.