Interest groups, participation and representation: evidence on citizens’ attitudes from a survey experiment

While most studies on interest groups investigate their role in the policymaking process or their internal functioning, our knowledge on citizens’ attitudes towards organized interests is very limited. In particular, it is unclear whether distinct types of interest groups are regarded in the same way, especially in terms of their representative function and in their capacity to mobilize civil society. This is of the utmost importance from both a normative and empirical point of view. On the one hand, it is important to identify the actors of intermediation that may improve the development of an ‘advocacy’ democracy, thus strengthening the links between citizens and interest groups, as well as voicing their concerns. On the other, it is clear that one of the main challenges of organized interests is their lack of legitimacy and their incapacity to foster participatory linkages. Our main argument is that what citizens think about the role of interest groups is a complex and multifaceted phenomenon, and it depends not only on individual characteristics but also on the type of interest group. In order to test these expectations, we rely on an original survey, carried out in Portugal in 2020, that includes several dimensions associated to the role of organized interests. From a methodological point of view, the survey innovates extant research by comprising an experimental component, allowing us to test the impact that different types of groups exert on citizens’ opinions. In doing this, this research is of great relevance not only for a better understanding of contemporary political systems and democratic quality, but also for the positive or negative implications that groups’ characteristics display as actors of intermediation.