| citizens' (non-economic) groups | Organized interests formed by individuals drawn together by opportunities to promote a cause in which they believe but that does not provide them significant individual economic benefits. (See also economic groups; interest group.)
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| collective (public) goods | Benefits that are offered by groups (usually citizens' groups) as an incentive for membership but that are nondivisible (such as a clean environment) and therefore are available to nonmembers as well as members of the particular group. (See also free-rider problem; private goods.)
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| economic groups | Interest groups that are organized primarily for economic reasons but that engage in political activity in order to seek favorable policies from government. (See also citizens' groups; interest group.)
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| free-rider problem | The situation in which the benefits offered by a group to its members are also available to nonmembers. The incentive to join the group and to promote its cause is reduced because nonmembers (free riders) receive the benefits (for example, a cleaner environment) without having to pay any of the group's costs. (See also collective goods.)
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| grassroots lobbying | A form of lobbying designed to persuade officials that a group's policy position has strong constituent support.
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| inside lobbying | Direct communication between organized interests and policymakers, which is based on the assumed value of close ("inside") contacts with policymakers.
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| interest group | A set of individuals who are organized to promote a shared political interest. (See also citizens' groups; economic groups.)
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| interest-group liberalism | The tendency of public officials to support the policy demands of self-interested groups (as opposed to judging policy demands according to whether they serve a larger conception of "the public interest").
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| iron triangle | A small and informal but relatively stable group of well-positioned legislators, executives, and lobbyists who seek to promote policies beneficial to a particular interest. (See also issue network.)
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| issue network | An informal network of public officials and lobbyists who have a common interest and expertise in a given area and who are brought together temporarily by a proposed policy in that area. (See also iron triangle.)
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| lobbying | The process by which interest-group members or lobbyists attempt to influence public policy through contacts with public officials.
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| outside lobbying | A form of lobbying in which an interest group seeks to use public pressure as a means of influencing officials.
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| political action committee (PAC) | The organization through which an interest group raises and distributes funds for election purposes. By law, the funds must be raised through voluntary contributions.
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| private (individual) goods | Benefits that a group (most often an economic group) can grant directly and exclusively to the individual members of the group. (See also collective goods.)
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| purposive incentive | An incentive to group participation based on the cause (purpose) that the group seeks to promote.
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| single-issue politics | The situation in which separate groups are organized around nearly every conceivable policy issue and press their demands and influence to the utmost.
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