Iron Triangle

• Iron triangles are a sub-governmental process that creates policy
• Consist of:

  • Congressional committees and subcommittees
  • Bureaucracy
  • Special interest groups
• Congressional committees and subcommittees are where laws get written
• Bureaucracy enforces policies and decisions involving large sums of money
• Special interest groups include a variety of organizations influencing policy
• Pros of iron triangles:

  • Allow pluralism and access to government
  • Represent the voice of the people
  • Provide influence on public policy
• Cons of iron triangles:

  • Can be undemocratic
  • May prioritize special interest group members over all consumers
  • Examples include farm subsidies, oil subsidies, and military contracts
• Iron triangles involve a flow of policy creation between congressional committees, bureaucratic agencies, and special interest groups
• Iron triangle:

  • Describes how various parties might influence each other and what they might do for each other
  • Consists of interest groups, Congress, and the bureaucracy
  • Interest groups, like road contractors, may lobby Congress for more highways to be built
  • Interest groups provide electoral support to Congress through donations, supporting political parties, and activating the electorate
  • In exchange, Congress may provide more funding to the bureaucracy building roads, lower regulations, and pass friendly legislation
• Congress:

  • Can get electoral support from interest groups
  • Passes laws and a budget, while the bureaucracy executes them
  • If aligned with Congress, the bureaucracy may execute laws more energetically
• Bureaucracy:

  • Can get funding and political support from Congress
  • Executes laws passed by Congress
  • May drag their feet if not aligned with Congress
  • Interest groups can support favorable policies for the bureaucracy through lobbying Congress
• Issue networks:

  • More informal than interest groups
  • Can include individuals who start influencing an interest group
  • Influence Congress and provide scrutiny on the bureaucracy
  • Not necessarily formal lobbying groups, but can have influence similar to interest groups
•  Bureaucracy: An administrative group of nonelected officials charged with implementing policies created by the other branches of government.