C A N A D A I N C O M P A R A T I V E P E R S P E C T I V E

Interest Articulation and Aggregation

Interest Articulation

The term interest articulation refers to the ways that citizens express their needs, views and demands to government

Interests can be articulated by individual citizens or by groups citizens who organize to represent their collective interests

Social Capital

A term made popular by

American political scientist

Robert Putnam

Social capital refers to

connections among individuals

– social networks and the norms

of reciprocity and trustworthiness

that arise from them

Social Capital and Democracy

Putnam argued that there is a strong positive connection between social capital and democracy

Social engagement political engagement successful democracy

Bridging and bonding

social capital

Class and Participation

Better educated and higher social status individuals are more likely to engage in political participation

These individuals tend to have a stronger sense of political efficacy and civic duty

They also possess the personal resources and skills needed to be politically active

Types of Citizen Participation

Voting (in elections and referenda)

Joining interest groups or political parties

Signing a petition

Participating in a

demonstration

Political consumerism

Interest Articulation

If the university doubled tuition rates in response to provincial cutbacks to post-

secondary education funding, how would you respond?

Interest Groups

A collection of individuals who have decided to pursue common political goals

Do not seek to control

the entire machinery of

government, but do seek

to influence the political

process

Types of Interest Groups

Anomic

Non-associational

Institutional

Associational

Interest Group Systems

Pluralist interest group systems

Neo-Corporatist interest group

systems

Controlled interest group systems

Determinants of Interest Group Influence

Numbers

Cohesion

Organizational skills

Leadership

Nature of the Issue

Strategies and Access

Lobbying

Mass-oriented activities

Access points to

government

Violence and Protest

Is violence a legitimate form of protest and interest articulation?

Interest Aggregation

The activity in which the political demands of individuals and groups are combined in policy programs

The means through which

articulated interests are

channeled into the political

process

Types of Interest Aggregation

Personal interest aggregation Patron-client networks

Institutional interest aggregation Connections between collective interests

such as interest groups and political

vehicles such as political parties

Competition between institutional groups

Party Systems

Competitive Party Systems

Consensual Party System

Conflictual Party System

Consociational Party System

One Party Competitive Systems

Authoritarian Party Systems

Types of Political Parties

Internally created: their founders were politicians who already held seats in the national assembly or other political offices

Externally created: parties that

organized outside parliament

before they became a force inside

that institution

Election Systems

Single Member Plurality or

“First Past the Post”

Majority Run-off

Proportional Representation

Discussion Question

Should voting in elections and referenda be mandatory in Canada?

Authoritarian Party Systems

Exclusive Governing Party System

Inclusive Governing Party

System

Military Regimes