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THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS AND INTEREST GROUPS

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Globalization of Media ­MCM404
VU
Lesson 13
THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS AND INTEREST GROUPS
Text of the handout for students
Note:  This handout contains the text of a chapter of the same name written by the lecturer and published
in "From Chaos to Catharsis" by Javed Jabbar published by Royal Book Company (1996), BG-5, Rex Centre,
Zebunnissa Street, Karachi 74400, Tel: 5684244, 5653418, e-mail: royalbook@hotmail.com.
The legislative process and interest groups
If the legislature itself is seen as the supreme national interest group representing the totality of a country's
perceptions about itself, then there may be the tendency to assume that all sectoral interest groups are more
or less adequately represented within the legislature and that, therefore, any extra role that interest groups
want to play in the legislative process is really a "vested interest "group role, self-serving rather than being
nationally oriented.
This is an incorrect assumption. Because even though a fairly elected legislature is a fairly accurate cross-
section of a country the method of election (i.e. first past-the-post as distinct from proportional
representation), the socio-economic profile of successful candidates, the size of political parties and groups in
the legislatures and other factors may prevent all principal segments of public opinion as well as of the public
interest from being adequately represented in the Houses.
Interest groups therefore, have a valid and legitimate role to play in society and in the legislative process
provided, of course, that they observe norms and parameters of conduct. This does not always happen but
such aberration does not in itself invalidate the role of interest groups.
This general principle stated, it is necessary to determine the precise interest of an interest group before
proceeding further. Where an interest group's stated motivation and objectives are in harmony with a
country's security and progress, where the interest group aims to improve public policy whereby a larger
national good is achieved while also satisfying the more limited good of the group, it is possible to accept the
aims and objectives of interest groups.
At the same time, while having constructive national aims, an interest group, out of uncertainty of success or
out of sheer temptation for short-cuts may use methods that are dubious, illegal or corruptive. This is the
case of the means certainly not justifying the ends. And it is here that special vigilance is required to monitor
the methods used by interest groups to advance their own aims.
Where interest groups use methods that are above board, then obviously they deserve study and observation.
Interest groups can represent a wide variety of sectors; different categories of industry such as textiles (within
which there can be sub-categories such as yarn, wool, ready-mades, linen, cloth, synthetics, etc.) chemicals,
food, beverages; different facets of agriculture such as cotton growers, rice farmers, wheat farmers, sugarcane
cultivators; different types of traders dealing in imports and exports, financial institutions including banks, co-
operatives, white collar workers, blue-collar workers; academics; consumer groups; professional associations;
voluntary organizations; social issues and national issues-oriented groups on family planning, education,
welfare, health, environment, etc.
Some of these interest groups, perhaps a few, are always well-represented in the legislatures. For example,
agriculturists in rural-oriented countries; industrialists, people with significant financial power, etc. In these
cases, such interest groups are also well-represented in the highest levels of the executive leadership of the
government and often of the State. This fortuitously reduces the work-load of interest groups because the
legislative majority and the government do their job for them! For those interest groups that are either
under-represented in the legislatures or not represented at all, there is a distinct and considerable work-load.
It is relevant to note that, due to a variety of factors such as an inherited, transplanted parliamentary or
legislative system, the economic and social structures of a nation, the majority of peoples in South Asian
nations are not represented in legislatures by individuals who share their socio-economic profile. In other
words, a constituency of very poor peasants in the rural areas or an urban constituency of middle class or
low-income workers may well be represented by individuals of very high income and of a very different
socio-economic profile.
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Globalization of Media ­MCM404
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Thus, a major interest group, i.e. the poor, while going through the delusion that they are duly organized as an
interest group through the political party or movement that they support may, in real terms, be deprived of
representation inside legislatures as well as deprived of interest groups outside legislatures because a political
party led by individuals who masquerade as champions of the poor pre-empt any potential attempt to set up a
special interest group for the poor.
The moral of the story is therefore, that a country may have democracy, may have regular elections and yet
may continue to deprive the majority of authentic participation in the legislatures, or even in interest groups.
There are also instances where political parties and movements set up ostensibly and specifically by the poor
for the poor, end up as partners of the rich and distort the articulation of the interests of the poor.
Legislatures are virtually always at the mercy of the majorities. Governments tend to enjoy an unfair
advantage over the opposition in setting the legislative agenda. When oppositions have the numerical
strength to requisition sessions at their own initiative, they remain subject to the overt and covert influence of
the government in determining the work of the legislatures.
Interest groups that seek legislative intervention have to strike a fine balance in their approach in order that
they are able to provide the opposition with fresh ammunition to fire upon the government while at the same
time ensuring that they do not antagonize the government by too close an alignment with the opposition.
Interest groups should be very good at walking the thin line of hyper-sensitivity that marks the partisan aspect
of legislatures.
Legislative majorities and other members of legislatures have a fair number of priorities competing for their
attention, ahead of interest groups. Constituency considerations, petitions for jobs, transfers and favours,
their own pre-occupations with government, party matters, attendance of House sittings, House committee
meetings, social engagements et al.
Interest groups use a range of methods to capture the attention of legislators. Letters and documents in the
mail, telephone calls, interviews for personal briefings, delegations to the premises of Parliament to button-
hole members, meetings with Ministers, publication of appeals, protests, letters in the Press to invite the
attention of leaders, holding of seminars, Press conferences, requests to be heard by Parliamentary
committees to enable presentation of viewpoints.
There is a tendency in most interest groups to concentrate only on specific policy measures such as taxes,
duties, etc. rather than on conceptual and fundamental issues that may require entirely new legislation or
substantive amendments to existing legislation. There are honorable exceptions such as when interest groups
take up critical causes like women's rights, children's rights.
In general, interest groups are "reactive" rather than anticipatory and pre-emptive, going into action as soon
as their interests are threatened or affected by a legislative or executive decision. Legislatures enjoy certain
inherent advantages over interest groups in terms of infrastructure, resources and the panoply of privileges.
Yet certain interest groups can also deploy vast resources to achieve their aims, particularly in a covert
manner. Where lobbies have access to unreported income or where they are able to offer legislators facilities
and electoral support, then members of legislatures become vulnerable to undue influence. When legislators
and interest groups converge and collaborate there can be an inhibiting and inimical impact on democracy
because those adversely affected by such a combination have no recourse, except to the courts.
Reporting of Parliament is a complex and challenging task for media correspondents. It demands knowledge,
understanding and vigilance of the highest level. Reporting on the activities and aims of interest groups and
monitoring their open as well as unseen interaction with the legislative sector requires an additional
investment of time, talent and investigative resources. To enable correspondents to do justice to these
considerable demands, media need to significantly increase the quality and quantum of the support that they
provide to correspondents.
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In principle, interest groups have a positive and corrective role to play in relation to the legislative process
provided that the media are able to accurately and effectively report on this relationship and keep the people
well-informed with in-depth analyses.
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Table of Contents:
  1. THE UNIQUE NATURE OF THE PAKISTANI NATION-STATE
  2. “PAKISTAN: THE FIRST 11 YEARS 1947-1958” PART 1
  3. “PAKISTAN: THE FIRST 11 YEARS 1947-1958”PART-2
  4. ROOTS OF CHAOS: TINY ACTS OR GIANT MIS-STEPS?
  5. “FROM NEW HOPES TO SHATTERED DREAMS: 1958-1971”
  6. “RENEWING PAKISTAN: 1971-2005” PART-I: 1971-1988
  7. RENEWING PAKISTAN: PART II 1971-2005 (1988-2005)
  8. THE CONSTITUTION OF PAKISTAN, PARTS I & II
  9. THE CONSTITUTION OF PAKISTAN, PARTS I & II:Changing the Constitution
  10. THE POLITICAL SYSTEM OF PAKISTAN:Senate Polls: Secrecy Breeds Distortion
  11. THE ELECTION COMMISSION OF PAKISTAN:A new role for the Election Commission
  12. “POLITICAL GROUPINGS AND ALLIANCES: ISSUES AND PERSPECTIVES”
  13. THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS AND INTEREST GROUPS
  14. “THE POPULATION, EDUCATION AND ECONOMIC DIMENSIONS OF PAKISTAN”
  15. THE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENT POLICY 2005:Environment and Housing
  16. NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY 2005:The National Policy, Sectoral Guidelines
  17. THE CHILDREN OF PAKISTAN:Law Reforms, National Plan of Action
  18. “THE HEALTH SECTOR OF PAKISTAN”
  19. NGOS AND DEVELOPMENT
  20. “THE INFORMATION SECTOR OF PAKISTAN”
  21. MEDIA AS ELEMENTS OF NATIONAL POWER:Directions of National Security
  22. ONE GLOBE: MANY WORLDS
  23. “THE UNITED NATIONS” PART-1
  24. “THE UNITED NATIONS” PART-2
  25. “MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS (MDGS)”:Excerpt
  26. “THE GLOBALIZATION: THREATS AND RESPONSES – PART-1”:The Services of Nature
  27. THE GLOBALIZATION: THREATS AND RESPONSES – PART-2”
  28. “WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION (WTO)”
  29. “THE EUROPEAN UNION”:The social dimension, Employment Policy
  30. “REGIONAL PACTS”:North America’s Second Decade, Mind the gap
  31. “OIC: ORGANIZATION OF THE ISLAMIC CONFERENCE”
  32. “FROM SOUTH ASIA TO SAARC”:Update
  33. “THE PAKISTAN-INDIA RELATIONSHIP”
  34. “DIMENSIONS OF TERRORISM”
  35. FROM VIOLENT CONFLICT TO PEACEFUL CO-EXISTENCE
  36. “OIL AND BEYOND”
  37. “PAKISTAN’S FOREIGN POLICY”
  38. “EMERGING TRENDS IN INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS”
  39. “GLOBALIZATION OF MEDIA”
  40. “GLOBALIZATION AND INDIGENIZATION OF MEDIA”
  41. “BALANCING PUBLIC INTERESTS AND COMMERCIAL INTERESTS”
  42. “CITIZENS’ MEDIA AND CITIZENS’ MEDIA DIALOGUE”
  43. “CITIZENS’ MEDIA RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES”Exclusive Membership
  44. “CITIZENS’ PARTICIPATION IN PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING”:Forming a Group
  45. “MEDIA IN THE 21ST CENTURY”