Political Organisations Impacts on Public Policy

POLITICAL ORGANISATIONS IMPACTS ON PUBLIC POLICY NAME COURSE INSTRUCTOR DATE Political Organisations Impacts on Public Policy The journal examines the significance of the efforts of political organisations which include political parties, interest groups and social movement organisations on influencing public policy. These organisations are integral in addressing public problems and offering solutions, voice policy preferences on behalf of all the citizens, keep elected officials in check and act as the liaison between the larger public and the government (Balestri 2013, p.540). As a result, they are present in all democratic nations and where policy making is done democratically. The journal article focuses on how these political groups directly impact policy changes based on different hypothesis such as the core hypothesis that states “Political organisations have a direct impact on policy change. Effectively this means that they have a substantial impact even after all other variables commonly included in recent studies are taken into account” (Burstein and Linton 2002, p.2). The author also notes that political parties have more effect on public policy than interest groups and social movement organisations (SMO) mainly because these parties are in a position to control the government. However, these political parties and their elected officials are mostly guided by electoral competition and the desire to win reelection when enacting policies that represent the opinions of the public, a fact the author refers to as the public opinion hypothesis. The journal also discusses the degree of impact of the political organisations individually. The journal mainly revolves around the core hypothesis which shows the direct relationship of political organisations impact on public policy and goes on to share other hypothesis that refine it. The fact has been further hypothesized by political scientists and sociologist in various articles and both confirm that political organisations tend to increase the outcome of policy enactment significantly. It’s argued however that the core hypothesis is greatly hampered when maj...