Friends For Life? Does a Privileged Position in Relation to the Bureaucracy Increase Interest Groups Chance of Survival?

The bureaucracy is an important venue for interest groups as this is the place to influence the preparation and implementation of public policies. It may be considered especially important in a corporative context, as selected interest groups can gain institutionalized and privileged access to the bureaucracy. In line with this, studies have shown that interest groups work hard to secure themselves such a position e.g. through representation in public committees, councils and commissions. However, in order to engage in public policy interest groups need to survive as organizations. We have little knowledge about how a privileged position in relation to the bureaucracy influences the interest groups’ chance of survival. I will argue that such a privileged position has a positive effect on the survival chances, as access to the bureaucracy can be considered a critical resource. The paper explores this hypothesis by investigating the destiny of all Danish interest groups in existence in 1975. A survey conducted on the population of all Danish interest groups in 1975 is used to establish which groups had a privileged position in relation to the bureaucracy. By tracing all groups from 1975 to 2010 it is recorded which groups have survived and which are dead. It is analyzed whether a privileged position in relation to the bureaucracy is crucial for the survival chances of interest groups.