Glossary
- Associations
- Group, based on a continuing pattern of
interactions, functioning as a bridge between persons in two or more institutionalized
groups or subdivisions thereof.
- Basic Law (Grundgesetz)
- German Constitution. The framers of the
German Constitution chose the name "Basi Law" in order to express
the transitory character of the document; it was supposed a provisional
solution for the Western part of the devided country. After reunification
in 1989, however, the name was maintained, and today the Basic Law applies
to the whole of Germany.
- Concerted Action
- Konzertierte Aktion, a debate between
organized labor and capital, first initiated by the Minister of the Economy
in 1967, lasting for 10 years with the purpose of finding wage and salary
regulations beneficial to the economy. The same principle was later applied
in different fields of interest group involvement, e.g. in the health care
sector.
- Corporatism
- Inclusion of associations into the governmental
process in advisory boards, committees, and informal discussions.
- Federalist Papers
- Collection of 85 essays concerning the
drafting of the US constitution, originally appeared in 1787/88 in New York
newspapers.
- Interest groups
- Groups characterized by the will to influence
political decision-making, in order to successfully implement certain political
goals or values. They tend to be integrated into the political process,
although groups may at times employ destructive methods in order to accomplish
their goals.
- Peak Association
- Organization of interest groups within
a particular field of society.