Civil Society, Interest Groups and the Media

Between the individual and the state lies civil society: voluntary associations such as charities, unions, religious groups, clubs and professional bodies. Alexis de Tocqueville, visiting the United States in the 1830s, argued that this habit of association taught citizens to cooperate and kept government in check. Interest groups are a part of civil society that tries to influence policy, through lobbying, campaigns, lawsuits and public pressure.

Pluralists see competition among many groups as healthy, while critics argue that well-funded groups gain unequal access. The media act as a further link, informing citizens, setting the agenda and scrutinizing officials. A free press is widely seen as essential to accountability, yet media can also be partisan, concentrated in few hands or controlled by governments. Comparing countries, scholars ask how free and diverse these intermediary institutions are, because they shape what citizens know and how they organize.