Implications and Outlook: Group Membership, Mobilization, and Bias

Abstract

Why are there discrepancies among the membership numbers of noneconomic interest groups, and what factors influence these disparities? As stated by Imig (1996), even the most deprived groups will at some point come together in collective action. In fact, this study shows that previously marginalized groups can indeed enhance their mobilization potential—others, however, stay disadvantaged in this regard. I therefore dedicated this dissertation to the research question how differences in the membership numbers of noneconomic interest groups can be explained.