Australian Politics and Policy - Senior, 2019a

Australian Politics and Policy
Although groups are normally more able to bring about change as insiders,
some pressure groups prefer to be ‘outsiders’. An outsider signals a separation
from government, which affirms a philosophical commitment to an issue and
provides freedom and independence to express views or pursue agendas without
real or perceived censorship. While some other outsiders may respect this position,
outsiders tend to be valued less by politicians – particularly if the strategy could
be perceived as extreme or unlikely to affect electoral results. However, changes in
societal values or recognition of the pressure group’s role and primary cause can
change these perceptions. 61
This delineation may be too simplistic, however. In the University of Aberdeen
model, both insider and outsider strategies can be used by the same group,
especially those who have only occasional involvement in the political sphere, or
with limited opportunities to exert leverage (so-called thresholder groups). 62
Cultural and communication work
Literature about social movements sheds light on the way that issues are ‘framed’
byorganisationstogarnersupportforasocialmovementorforpolicychange.
Framing refers to how groups link interpretations of individual interests, values and
beliefs with their activities, goals and ideology. Entman provides a useful definition
of framing and its policy implications:
to select some aspects of a perceived reality and make them more salient in a
communicating text, in such a way as to promote a particular problem definition,
causal interpretation, moral evaluation, and/or treatment recommendation. 63
Whenaparticulareventisframedasmeaningful,individualscanbepromptedto
bring others together in collective action. Moreover, the event may serve to guide
social movement organisations or pressure groups. 64
Yet, for all social movements, challenging the status quo means reinterpreting
certain aspects of social reality to elicit emotions and better prompt individuals to
collective action for social change. 65 Frames,typicallyinanarrativeform,structure
the focus of an event or situation, and seek to direct emotions and energy
accordingly. Narratives use stories to associate events and experiences, making
meaning relatable and enhancing the message for a collective purpose. For social
movements (and pressure groups) this is towards collective, political directions. 66
61 Davis et al. 1993, 140–1.
62 May and Nugent 1982.
63 Entman 1993.
64 Snow et al. 1986, 464.
65 Flam 2005, 19.
66 Eyerman 2005, 45–6.
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