Interest Groups' Influence On U.S. Government Decision-making

An interest group is a non-partisan organisation that engages in political activity for one or several common interests.Interest groups have been central features of the American political landscape since the earliest days of the republic.Even today,there are many more interest groups in America than in any other country,collectively exerting greater influence on the government in America than they do in any other country.To better understand American politics,it is necessary to know about interest groups.To more comprehensively understand American domestic and foreign policy,it is highly recommended to keep an eye on the development of interest groups.Based on the mainline of interest groups' lobbying activities,this thesis illustrates how decisions are made within American government,demonstrates the motivations,strategies and approaches during the process where interest groups affect government policy-making and reveals the fact that interests are the core of American politics.First of all,the first chapter elucidates various definitions of interest groups,with the differences among interest groups,political parties and unorganised groups clearly explained as well.The chapter later introduces four types of interest groups with the focus lying on economic interest groups and interest groups for political and social rights.Chapters Two and Three are the main body of the thesis.To avoid the vapidity of words and to convey the ideas more clearly,Chapter Two adopts a number of tables and figures to demonstrate the motivations,strategies and approaches of interest groups influencing government decision-making.In Chapter Three,the U.S.exchange rate policy towards China is chosen as a case study to help explain how precisely interest groups are able to do so.By combining economic and trade knowledge with political culture,Chapter Three fully presents the practical significance of the research theme.In the conclusion part,summaries are made through reviewing certain details in Chapter Three and finally the author reaches the following conclusions: despite their dual nature,interest groups are inevitable outcomes of the constant development of American politics and economy;in most cases interest groups represent the vast majority of people in American society instead of just upper-class elites;interest groups have more positive influence on American democracy instead of endangering it.