Interest Groups and Policy Communities

Devolution brought the potential for change in the way interest groups operated, the structure of policy communities, and the pattern of interaction with government. The creation of a Scottish Government represented a new site for lobbying and policy engagement. However, this change would not have a uniform effect across the board. This chapter examines the so-called ‘rise of the meso’ by comparing Scotland before and after devolution, but also comparing Scotland to other sub-state institutions around the world. We find that, whilst devolution certainly had an impact on how interest groups operate in Scotland, it is important not to overstate it. Indeed, the so-called ‘new politics’ that devolution was meant to espouse has to be used cautiously given the continued dominance of traditionally privileged groups to the policymaking process.