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The contingent character of interest groups–political parties’ interaction

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 May 2020

Laura Chaqués-Bonafont Open the ORCID record for Laura Chaqués-Bonafont [Opens in a new window] ,
Camilo Cristancho ,
Luz Muñoz-Márquez  and
Leire Rincón
Laura Chaqués-Bonafont*
Affiliation:
Political Science Department, University of Barcelona and IBEI, Spain
Camilo Cristancho
Affiliation:
Political Science Department, University of Barcelona, Spain
Luz Muñoz-Márquez
Affiliation:
Political Science Department, University of Barcelona, Spain
Leire Rincón
Affiliation:
Political Science Department, University of Barcelona and IBEI, Spain
*
*Corresponding author. E-mail: laurachaques@ub.edu
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Abstract

This article examines the conditions under which interest groups interact with political parties. Existing research finds that interest group–political party interactions in most western democracies have become more open and contingent over time. The close ideological and formal organisational ties that once characterised these relations have gradually been replaced by alternative, more pragmatic forms of cooperation. However, most of this research stresses the importance of the structural factors underpinning these links over time and across countries, but sheds little light on the factors driving short-term interest group–party interactions. Here, by drawing on survey data on Spanish interest groups obtained between December 2016 and May 2017, this article seeks to fill this gap by taking into account party status, issue salience and a group’s resources as explanatory variables. It shows that mainstream parties are the primary targets of interest groups, that groups dealing with salient issues are more likely to contact political parties and that the groups with most resources interact with a larger number of parties.

Keywords

interest groupsissue saliencemainstream partiespolitical partiesSpain
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Public Policy , Volume 41 , Issue 3 , September 2021 , pp. 440 - 461
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

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Footnotes

†

This work was supported by the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (CSO-2015-69878-P) Granttitle “La política de transparencia y derecho a la información en un contexto de governanza multinivel,” IP: Laura Chaqués Bonafont.

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