Interest Groups and Agenda-Setting

Agenda-setting can be defined as the process in which the policy agenda of policymakers is set. Policy agendas reflect how policymakers pay serious attention to and prioritize a portfolio of policy issues such as the economy, health, social welfare and foreign policy. While having the attention of the policymakers is not a sufficient condition for policy change, it is not possible to change a policy without attention. Agenda-setting thus has substantial implications for policy outcomes. It is therefore also a crucial policy stage for interest groups to lobby in to eventually attain favourable policy outcomes for themselves and for the interests they represent.
Agenda-setting research generally build on the key assumption that policymakers are boundedly rational. According to this perspective, policymakers have short attention spans and policy agendas therefore have limited carrying capacity. To get their agenda heard by policymakers, interest groups thus have to mobilize interests, create conflicts on the policy issue, reframe the policy problem, gain access to a policy arena, form a strong policy coalition with others and fend off challenges by other competitors on the same policy issues.
This chapter discusses why the agenda-setting process is crucial for interest groups, explains its theoretical foundations and dynamics, and discusses the roles of interest groups in shaping policy agendas and the implication to democratic representation. The chapter concludes with highlighting some future research opportunities.