Agenda Setting and Influence of Interest Groups.docx (original) (raw)

American Policy Process: Agenda Setting & the Role of Interest Groups " The flaw in the pluralist heave is that the heavenly chorus sings with a strong upper-class accent ". –E.E. Schattschneider (1960) The narrative of American inequality breeds dramatic economic and political changes (Hacker & Pierson, 2010) witnessed over the last few decades. Not only has the economy evolved, but also has the political fabric with the emergence of vast financial bids for reelection, lobbying activities by corporations, businesses and professional organizations as interest groups which have drastically drowned the voice of the mass citizenry and public interest. Since, power and influence play a key role in the policy process. In the policy process interest groups influence the policy arena or are the decisions representative of the larger welfare society? To reach the answer, it is necessary to understand the role and influence of these very interest groups in the context of the American policy process, especially during the agenda setting and decision making stages as outlined by scholars. This paper examines valuable insights into the policy process through recognized frameworks in the field; it explores the importance of both the agenda setting and decision making stages in the policy process as stages of problem solving public issues; and it highlights the central role of interest groups in context of the American pluralism. Policy Process In the political sphere, the debate of policy formation must include the role and influence of the mass public, the American citizenry. As a government of democratic ideals, the public is an integral part of public policy process. Democracy, conceptualized, depends on citizens having the means and capacity to form meaningful opinions about acts of governance. This premise is based on the notion that the public not only has access, but also influences in the policy process. In reality, there exists a certain economic inequality in society which leads to certain groups having more influence than others. Even Aristotle wrestled with the question of whether substantial economic inequality was compatible with democracy. In the last decade, even the American Political Science Association concluded that political scientists know very little about the effects of economic and political changes on American democracy. Since it is recognized that economic inequality breeds an advantaged influence within certain groups of society, it is important to understand its implications on public policy (and hence, democracy in general). The policy process is a complex problem solving approach involving relative power and influence of stakeholders. It is the system of logical cycle of events which lead to problem solutions. Charles O. Jones (1984) was the first to integrate policy and political science into a framework of policy analysis for a comprehensive sequence of recurring cycles. According to his framework (which has through the years been both revered and criticized) includes perception and definition of a problem; aggregation in reference to its importance; organization of actors involved; representation as decision makers; agenda setting; formulation of a proposed solution; legitimating and support of the problem; budgeting; implementation; evaluation; and adjustment and termination of the adopted solution. Through policy analysis, decisions by stakeholders are made on adopting solutions. These decisions are methodical and use both qualitative and quantitative methods of defining the problem, evaluation a criterion, identifying and evaluating alternatives, and recommending the Mohyuddin 1