Interest Groups in the United States and Germany: Capital and Labor, Confrontation and Cooperation A Comparative Analysis of Interest Groups in the Governmental Process in Germany and the United States

Recent transnational mergers such as that between Chrysler and Daimler Benz raise the question of how these new corporations will fuse different traditions for dealing with internal conflicts, such as those between corporate management and corporate labor. This situation will become increasingly problematic in the coming decade as further mergers between e.g. American and German companies occur. The interaction between capital and labor highlights the broader issue of how interest groups in general operate in each country. Interest groups play essential roles in both nations' systems but employ varying strategies to achieve different goals in each. U.S. and German citizens acknowledge the importance of interest groups and do not hesitate to criticize their flaws, but each citizenry underlines those imperfections and dangers in different terms. Thus, when examining the situations in each country, one finds that the underlying causes are different. Both countries face problems posed by the influence of interest groups and have developed unique responses to those challenges. By examining these differences, one can understand different approaches to the integration of organized interests as well as gain a new perspective on the accepted practices in one's own country.

Originally published on the XRoads site for the UVA American Studies program. Years range from 1995-2005. Content is captured at the level of functionality available on the date of capture.