Answer:

A pressure group is an organized group of people that aims to influence the policies or actions of government. The pressure group universe may include churches and charities, businesses and trade associations, trade unions and professional associations, think tanks of various complexions, and so forth.

Pressure groups help in citizens’ participation in democracy in following ways:

♤ Representation: Pressure groups provide a mouthpiece for groups and interests that are not adequately represented through the electoral process or by political parties.

♤ Education: Much of what the public knows about politics it finds out through pressure groups of one kind or another. Many pressure groups, indeed, operate largely through their ability to communicate with the public and raise political consciousness.

♤ Policy formulation: Pressure groups are a vital source of information and advice to governments. Many groups are therefore regularly consulted in the process of policy formulation, with government policy increasingly being developed through policy networks.

♤ Policy implementation: The role of some pressure groups extends beyond trying to shape the content of public policy to playing a role in putting policy into practice.

♤ Pressure groups keep government in touch with public opinion between elections.

♤ Pressure groups give a political voice to minority groups and articulate concerns that are overlooked by political parties.

Democratic politics has to be politics through consultation and negotiation. The society has become highly complex and individuals cannot pursue their interests on their own. Pressure groups ensure that an individual's democratic rights are not confined just to the act of voting.