Research aims and approach. This dissertation seeks to improve our understanding of the intermediary role that groups play in our governance systems. To do so, the dissertation argues that an assessment of the transmission belt function of groups and their political relevance requires a focus on their internal organizational structure as this relates to their ability to relay members 21 with policymakers. Importantly, the organizational ability to function as a transmission belt relates to the possession of different policy capacities and this ultimately affects the political relevance of groups in policymaking processes. This dissertation examines how and when interest groups organize themselves as transmission belts and the implications for their political relevance among public officials involved decision-making processes. More specifically, the first block of the dissertation conceptualizes interest groups as transmission belts and empirically examines when are groups more likely to have the organizational attributes that fit the transmission belt ideal. The second block focuses on the political consequences of being organized as a transmis- sion belt and of having certain political capacities related to it. Table 1.1 below presents the two-fold research question that guide this dissertation as well as the sub-questions that are addressed in each of the four empirical chapters.
