Chapter 3 Political Actions This chapter will discuss political participation and actions The explicit intention of political action is to influence the actions or selection of political rulers Individual Political Actions Modes of Political Activity This can range from never occasional and frequent to pervasive and can be both conventional and unconventional This is referred to as taxonomic analysis classifying units by some category Political Activists those heavily involved in politics Foot Soldiers Activists who do basic work volunteering for a campaign attention political rallies Single Issue Activists More sporadic than Normally do not participate until something mobilizes them Extremist Activists Those who are willing to engage in extensive unconventional political action in pursuit of their vision of an ideal political outcome Political Leaders Ultimate political activists essentially They use their power to do create high levels of change Political Participation Studies Best compared in voting where in some countries almost 100 of the population vote while in others only 30 39 may participate The significance of political actions change with the country N Korea vs Sweden One broad finding is that aside from voting the same percentage of political activists are found around the globe It was also found that most at one point are willing to engage in more activist modes of political demonstrations Group Political Actions Groups are extremely important because they are the major mechanism through which individuals gain power Interest group the common interest the group pursues is a political objective Political Party not only influence political decisions but also place their members into leadership roles Political Interest Groups Activities of Political Interest Groups how these groups attempt to influence politics Political Action By some or all of the group Protests rallies voting campaigning Provision of Material Resources groups can give materials or resources to political actors in attempts to influence them The ethics of this vary from political system to system Exchange of Information Interest groups can give certain info to political actors to influence them Auto companies giving info against air bags to save money vs insurance agencies giving info FOR them to also save money Cooperation Major interest groups can influence through their compliance noncompliance with the govenerment actors Cooperatism Close cooperaton between interest groups and government agencies Constraints on a Group s Behavior Political resources Elements controlled by the group that ca influence the decisions and actions made by political actors This can include social status legitimacy and ability to mobilize large numbers of people Objectives If their objectives are similar to existing policy and are on a topic that the existing political system is interested in changing then the group has an advantage Political Environment What a group can and can t do is controlled by the political environment In more repressive political systems lobbyists aren t necessarily allowed Types of Interest Groups Associational Specifically to further political objectives of its members Mothers Against Drunk Driving Institutional Formed to achieve goals outside politics but also pursues political objectives A part of the organization is set aside for politics state schools Nonassociational Somewhat of a social movement where they are more focused on changing social change and may organize and campaign over a broader geographic area Women s rights movements Anomic Short lived and spontaneous The best example is of a riot These represent an ideal type a set of distinctive forms of a phenomenon in order to reveal the different ways in which key characteristics can be combined Most cases are a blend of these types however Political Parties Interest groups become this when they try to capture political power by placing their members in a government office Activities of Political Parties Brokers of Ideas They create ideas for the gov t Ideololgical Parties hold major programmatic goals and are deeply committed to their implementation Pragmatic Parties flexible goals and are more geared towards policy change NOTE few interest groups gain political power yet the green party in Agents of Political Socialization Things that influence individual s political Links btwn Individuals and the System Parties connect individuals with the Germany did just that beliefs greater political system Mobilization and Recruitment of Political Activists Parties offer a well organized structure to direct political interests Coordination of Governmental Operations help to coordinate the government Can encourage or require its members to work together in government Organized Resources of Opposition When the party is not in power they act as an explicit and organized source of opposition Can oppose but not obstruct Politics come alive when people participate Acting alone or with others can affect the Doing Politics political world