ABSTRACT
Political parties and interest groups are the two most important actors functioning as “transmission belts” between the public and the state and bringing citizens’ issues to the political agenda. This chapter explores whether interest groups “compensate” in representing citizens in policy areas left open by political parties, or quite contrary, whether they follow the same pattern of biased representation and indifference towards civil society. Using quantitative and comparative data gathered between 2016 and 2018 from six EU countries, the chapter sheds light on the interplay between interest groups and political parties in the context of civic engagement.
