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Abstract

In the FRG, the regional level of the Länder is highly salient for the articulation and representation of interests, because the Länder enjoy considerable decision-making powers and have fully developed administrations whose collective weight is even larger than that of the federal administration. The two-tier structure of interest organization in the FRG reflecs the constitutional distribution of functions, both organizationally and wiht respect to the kinds of issues involved in interest group politics at the two levels. Most national interest organizations are composed of regional organizations which correspond more or less with Länder boundaries and which are corporate actors in their own right. At the federal level, concern is more with influencing legislation, while at the regional level interest organizations are often involved in planning and policy implementation. The article traces the historical development of this two-tier structure of interest representation and illustrates its mode of operation in a number of different policy sectors. In conclusion, the functions served by this structural arrangement are pointed out.