Abstract

In the research on interest groups, three different phases are easily identifiable. In the first one (’50-’70), under the influence of the pluralist tradition in the USA, the analysis focused mainly on the power of these actors and the interaction between interest politics and democratic procedures. The organizational dimension was substantially neglected. In the second phase (’80-’90), corresponding to the emerging of neo-corporatist trends in Europe, the way in which economic and financial interests were organized became the main topic of research. For this approach, organizing interests means structuring their substantive content. In the third phase (2000-nowadays), the attention is shifting again to the policy process and marginal attention is given to organizational dynamics. The aim of this article is threefold. First of all, we shed light on what does it mean to “take seriouslyµ the organizational dimension. Secondly, we explain this wavering attention given to the organization as a theme of research during the three phases. Thirdly, we explore the ways in which these two traditions of research can be integrated. In the last chapter, the Italian case is briefly discussed