An interest group is a collection of pops that support certain political views and want to change the country to be more in line with those views. Interest groups are drawn from a number of different templates, but may vary in their exact views from country to country, based on factors such as the local religion, which social movements have appeared in the country or the personal views of their leader.
All individuals in all pops are either members of an interest group or 
politically inactive, with the ratio in each based on factors such as profession, 
wealth, 
literacy, etc. Importantly, a single pop can potentially have individual members supporting every interest group in the game.
Base interest groupsEdit
Interest groups form the nucleus of Victoria 3's political gameplay. There are 8 interest groups in the game (and an additional politically inactive group):
Armed forces
Petite bourgeoisie
Devout
Industrialists
Intelligentsia
Landowners
Rural folk
Trade unions- Politically inactive
Interest groups' names may differ depending on the circumstances in the country. For example, the Siamese devout interest group is Theravada Monks, the Japanese armed forces interest group is Samurai, and the Russian landowners interest group is Gentry Assembly.
IdeologyEdit
- Main article: Ideology
Interest groups have a number of ideologies which determine their views on which laws the country should or should not enact – interest groups generally favor laws that align with their beliefs and benefit them in some way.
Different interest groups have different ideologies (for example, the landowners are significantly more conservative than the trade unions), but these are not entirely set in stone. Ideologies can change over the course of the game and, the current leader of the interest group comes with their own personal ideology, which modifies which laws a group supports.
Additionally, some interest groups in certain countries have unique ideologies colored by their religion and culture, such as the Confucian Scholars interest group in 
Qing China who support a 
Confucian ideology.
The default ideology setup for the interest groups are as follows:
| Interest group | Armed Forces
|
Devout
|
Industrialists
|
Intelligentsia
|
Landowners
|
Petite Bourgeoisie
|
Rural Folk
|
Trade Unions
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base ideologies |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note: Interest groups' ideologies may differ based on country or law. For example, landowners gain the 
Pro-Slavery ideology, if Slavery is allowed in the country.
Leader IdeologyEdit
Each interest group has a 
Politician character who leads the group. These characters' personal ideology modifies the stances their interest group takes while they lead it. This can lead an interest group to take stances different from or even opposed to its standard ideology.
Political strengthEdit
Individuals inside pops contribute political strength to their interest group of choice, with the amount they contribute again dependent on multiple factors, the main ones being their material wealth and the status (and/or votes) they are offered under the nation's power structure. For example, a single wealthy 
aristocrat in an oligarchy provides hundreds or even thousands times the political strength of a poor 
laborer.
Some pops have no political strength at all, usually due to being disenfranchised under the nation's laws (such as people of a religion or culture that is discriminated against, or women in countries that haven't instituted women's suffrage). These pops are "outside the system", unable to demand reform through the regular political system of interest groups, and instead having to rely on other methods to put pressure on the government.
AttractionEdit
All pops have attraction scores toward interest groups and divide up their political strength proportionally among them.
Not all pops can be attracted to all interest groups. Various pop conditions, such as discrimination status, religion, culture, employment, literacy, but primarily profession determine which pops are able to support which interest group. The pop divides its support among the interest groups according to their relative weight, as determined by the table below.
| Armed forces
|
Devout
|
Industrialists
|
Intelligentsia
|
Landowners
|
Petite bourgeoisie
|
Rural folk
|
Trade unions
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Requirements | One of: Pop is not discriminated Pop's profession is Aristocrats, Officers, or Servicemen |
Pop follows the state's religion | Country must be centralized | Pop's Literacy is over 25% Country must be centralized |
Pop has primary culture Pop is employed in Manufacturing, Service, Urban Facilities, or Government |
Pop is employed in Agriculture, Ranching, or Plantations | Pop is not employed in Agriculture, Ranching, or Plantations Country must be centralized | |
| Base Weight | 0 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 75 | 50 | 50 |
| Other Weight Effects | +25 if not discriminated | −2 per 10% Literacy over 50% except  Clergymen
|
+10 if Literacy ≥ 50% +2 per 10% Literacy over 50%
|
Final weight multiplied by:
| ||||
| Professions | ||||||||
 Academics
|
 |
+200 | |
|||||
 Aristocrats
|
+50 | +50 | |
+50 | +200 | |
|
|
 Bureaucrats
|
|
+100 | |
|||||
 Capitalists
|
+200 | +50 | |
|
|
| ||
 Clergymen
|
+200 | |
+50 | +100 | ||||
 Clerks
|
|
+100 | |
+50 | ||||
 Engineers
|
+50 | |
||||||
 Farmers
|
|
+50 | +200 | |||||
 Laborers
|
|
|
+50 | |||||
 Machinists
|
|
|
+100 | |||||
 Officers
|
+200 | |
+50 | | ||||
 Peasants
|
+50 | |
|
|
+200 | |||
 Servicemen
|
+100 | |
|
|||||
 Shopkeepers
|
+50 | |
+200 | | ||||
 Slaves
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Bolstering and suppressionEdit
Unless the country has enacted 
Guaranteed Liberties, it can 
bolster or 
suppress interest groups, increasing or decreasing that groups attraction by some amount, as determined by its Free Speech law.
CloutEdit
The total political strength of all pops in an interest group determines its clout – the amount of political weight it can assert on the country and the government. The interest group's clout value is the percentage of the political strength it holds out of all the political strength in the country. For example, if all pops in the country have 100k political strength and the 
industrialists have 30k political strength, then they control 30% of the clout in the country.
Clout determines the interest group's classification within their country – whether they are considered powerful, influential, or marginalized.
An interest group becomes marginalized if their clout drops below 4%, unless they are in government. They become influential again if it increases above 5%.
Similarly, a interest group becomes powerful if their clout rises above 20%, and influential again if it drops below 18%.
ApprovalEdit
- See also: Political movement
| Source | Approval |
|---|---|
| Law Stances | |
| Strongly Approves | +2 |
| Approves | +1 |
| Disapproves | −1 |
| Strongly Disapproves | −2 |
| Law Changes | |
| One step | ±5 |
| Two steps | ±10 |
| Three or more steps | ±20 |
| Pop political strength | |
| Each ~6% loyalist | +1 |
| Each ~6% radical | −1 |
Interest groups have a level of approval, which has two main sources: stances on 
laws, and pop 
loyalists and 
radicals. Other factors may affect approval as well, such as the player's choices in certain events. Total approval is capped between −20 and +20.
Each interest group and its leader's ideologies set its stance towards various laws from on a five-point scale, from 
Strongly Disapprove (−2) to 
Strongly Approve (+2). Approval from laws is the sum of all stances, capped at ±5.
In addition to the stance on enacted laws, proposed and recent law changes have an increased effect on an interest group's approval. A change which moves one step along their stance scale adds ±5, two steps adds ±10, and three or more steps adds ±20. This effect is added throughout the proposed change, and when a law is fully enacted, it remains and decays over five years. Cancelling the proposed law change immediately removes this effect. The effect of law changes on approval is not directly capped and can stack when changing several laws in a short time.
The percentage of pops supporting an interest group which are loyalists or radicals also affects approval, up to ±15 if all of the pops are loyalists or radicals. The actual approval effect is determined by the percentage of pop political strength, if more political strength comes from loyalist pops, it is positive; otherwise if more comes from radicals, it is negative. This scaled by the relative amount, for example if two-thirds (66%) is loyalist and one-third (33%) radicals, the approval effect is +5 as the loyalists provide +10 which is offset by the radicals' −5.
Government and military wages affect certain interest groups by ±1 for each step above or below normal wages. Government wages affect Intelligentsia and Petite Bourgeoisie approval, and military wages affect Armed Forces approval.
If a group is powerful and 
in opposition, their approval drops by −1.
Finally, there are many events, especially surrounding law changes, that add temporary approval modifiers to various interest groups.
EffectsEdit
If an interest group's approval is −10 or less, they are Angry. They cannot be added to the government, but do not leave it if they're already in it. They also contribute their clout to the radicalization of any movement they support, possibly starting a revolution.
From −9 to −5, a group is Unhappy, activating their negative trait.
From −4 to +4, a group is Neutral, providing no special effect.
From +5 to +9, a group is Happy, activating their first positive trait. They also stop backing any movements.
At +10 or above, a group is Loyal, activating their second positive trait.
TraitsEdit
Each group has three traits associated with it, one negative, and two positive. If group's approval is −5 or less, their negative trait is active. Approval of at least +5 activates their first positive trait, and +10 or more activates both of their positive traits.
Traits of a powerful group are twice as powerful, while marginalized groups cannot activate their traits at all.
| Interest group | Unhappy trait (approval ≤5) | Happy trait (approval ≥5) | Loyal trait (approval ≥10) |
|---|---|---|---|
 Armed forces
|
|
|
|
 Devout
|
|
|
|
 Industrialists
|
|
|
|
 Intelligentsia
|
|
|
|
 Landowners
|
|
|
|
 Petite bourgeoisie
|
|
|
|
 Rural folk
|
|
|
|
 Trade unions
|
|
|
|
Government and OppositionEdit
Interest groups which are not 
marginalized are either 
in government or in opposition.
An interest group in government contributes its clout to the success chance of passing the laws they support, and to the stall chance of the laws they oppose. Proposing law changes usually requires an interest group in government which supports that law as well. Interest groups in opposition don't contribute their clout directly; however, unless they are happy or loyal, they may start a movement opposing a law change or demanding that a law be passed. By adding their clout to movement support, they can still affect the chance of success or stall.
LegitimacyEdit
- Main article: Legitimacy
Legitimacy represents how well a government can function based on popular support for the ruling interest groups and how well those groups can work together. Legitimacy is strongly affected by Governance Principles and Distribution of Power laws. Legitimacy is increased by including high clout interest groups and high vote parties in government and decreased by having too many interest groups or parties, or groups which are too ideologically opposed in government. More autocratic forms of government also gain legitimacy by including the ruler's preferred interest group in government.
Reforming governmentEdit
Government can be reformed at any time by adding or removing interest groups. Any group in opposition can be added freely, but removing a group in government radicalizes 25% of its members. In countries with voting, elections provide an opportunity to reform the government without angering interest groups' members – the first reform within six months of a finished election does not radicalize members of groups removed from government.
There is a quick reform option which presents the three highest legitimacy options available, but note that this does not include the current government nor does it take radicalization from removing interest groups into account.
PartiesEdit
- Main article: Political party
Countries with voting and elections also have political parties, alliances of interest groups with similar concerns. Parties count as a single group for the purposes of legitimacy, and so allow more interest groups to be added to the government without penalty. However, in order to add or remove a party from government, all of its member interest groups must be added or removed together. There is no penalty for leaving an interest group out when it wants to join a party, except that it is impossible to reform government while a party is "split" this way, without unifying the party in government or in opposition.
Parties gain additional strength from votes of the last election. Pops do not vote for interest groups directly but rather for political parties, therefore interest groups that do not join a party miss out on a large amount of potential political strength.
Party AttractionEdit
Interest groups update their party affiliations at the beginning of each election campaign and join the party they have the highest attraction towards, discounting parties that do not meet the requirements to exist or that the interest group is otherwise prohibited from joining. All Interest Groups have a base attraction of −5 towards all political parties and must have a final attraction of at least +1 in order to join a party. If an interest group does not have positive attraction towards any valid party, then it does not join any party or participate in the current election.
Below is a partial list of each interest group's attraction factors towards political parties as well as which other interest groups share those same factors. These tables only take typical core ideologies into account; leader ideologies in particular can greatly affect an interest group's party attraction. See Political party for a full list of all possible attraction factors.
| Condition | Attraction | Shared With |
|---|---|---|
| Inherent to ideology | +5 Conservative, +4 Fascist | Petite Bourgeoisie |
| Is Powerful | +10 Military | |
| Country has Peasant Levies | +6 Agrarian, +3 Anarchist | Rural Folk |
| Country does not have Per-Capita Taxation, Proportional Taxation or Graduated Taxation | +3 Communist, +3 Fascist, +3 Social Democrat | |
| Country has Guaranteed Liberties | +2 Conservative | Petite Bourgeoisie |
| Researched Law Enforcement and country has No Police | +3 Conservative, +3 Fascist, +3 Military | Petite Bourgeoisie, Landowners |
| Country does not have Per-Capita Taxation, Proportional Taxation or Graduated Taxation | +3 Military | Trade Unions |
| Country has Consumption-Based Taxation | +3 Social Democrat |
| Condition | Attraction | Shared With |
|---|---|---|
| Inherent to ideology | +5 Conservative | Landowners |
| Is Powerful | +10 Religious | |
| Country has Public Schools | +2 Conservative | Industrialists |
| Country has Total Separation | +5 Conservative | |
| Country has Freedom of Conscience | +3 Conservative | |
| Country has Women's Suffrage | +3 Conservative, +3 Religious | Landowners |
| Country has Women in the Workplace | +2 Conservative | Landowners |
| Researched Law Enforcement, Country has Right of Assembly or Protected Speech | +3 Conservative | Landowners |
| Country does not have Monarchy or Theocracy | +3 Conservative | Landowners |
| Country has Theocracy | +5 Religious |
| Condition | Attraction | Shared With |
|---|---|---|
| Inherent to ideology | +5 Free Trade | |
| Inherent to ideology | +5 Liberal | Intelligentsia |
| Is Powerful | +10 Free Trade | |
| Country has Serfdom | +10 Agrarian, +5 Anarchist, +5 Communist, +5 Liberal, +3 Radical, +5 Social Democrat | Intelligentsia, Rural Folk, Trade Unions |
| Country has Universal Suffrage | +5 Conservative | Landowners |
| Country has Graduated Taxation | +2 Conservative | Landowners |
| Country has Public Health Insurance | +2 Conservative | |
| Country has Public Schools | +2 Conservative | Devout |
| Country has Regulatory Bodies or Worker's Protections | +5 Conservative, +5 Free Trade | Landowners |
| Country has Wage Subsidies or Old Age Pension | +5 Conservative, +5 Free Trade | Landowners |
| Country does not have Child Labor Allowed | +3 Free Trade | |
| Country does not have Free Trade | +3 Free Trade | |
| Country does not have Oligarchy or Wealth Voting | +3 Free Trade | |
| Researched Currency Standards, country does not have Per-Capita Taxation or Consumption-Based Taxation | +3 Free Trade | Petite Bourgeoisie |
| Country has Graduated Taxation | +3 Free Trade | Landowners, Petite Bourgeoisie |
| Researched Central Planning, country has Command Economy | +3 Free Trade | Landowners, Rural Folk |
| Researched Academia, country has No Schools or Religious Schools | +3 Free Trade | Intelligentsia |
| Country has No Schools or Religious Schools | +3 Liberal, +3 Social Democrat | Trade Unions |
| Condition | Attraction | Shared With |
|---|---|---|
| Inherent to ideology | +5 Liberal, -15 Religious | |
| Inherent to ideology | +5 Liberal | Industrialists |
| Country primary culture has Scandinavian Heritage | +10 Agrarian | Rural Folk |
| Country has Local Police Force or Militarized Police Force | +6 Agrarian | Rural Folk |
| Country has Serfdom | +10 Agrarian, +5 Anarchist, +5 Communist, +5 Liberal, +3 Radical, +5 Social Democrat | Industrialists, Rural Folk, Trade Unions |
| Country has Debt Slavery | +10 Agrarian | |
| Country has Outlawed Dissent | +3 Anarchist, +3 Liberal, +6 Radical, +3 Social Democrat | Trade Unions |
| Country has State Religion | +3 Anarchist, +3 Communist, +3 Liberal | |
| Country has Slave Trade or Legacy Slavaery | +5 Anarchist, +5 Communist, +3 Radical | |
| Country has Monarchy or Theocracy | +3 Anarchist, +3 Communist, +3 Liberal, +10 Radical, +3 Social Democrat | Trade Unions |
| Country has Autocracy | +3 Free Trade | |
| Researched Academia, country has No Schools or Religious Schools | +3 Free Trade | Industrialists |
| Country has Hereditary Bureaucrats | +3 Liberal | Petite Bourgeoisie |
| Country has Legal Guardianship | +3 Liberal | Trade Unions |
| Country has Ethnostate, National Supremacy or Racial Segregation | +3 Liberal | |
| Country has Local Police Force or Militarized Police Force | +3 Liberal | Rural Folk |
| Country does not have Universal Suffrage | +10 Radical | Trade Unions |
| Country has National Guard or Secret Police | +6 Radical | |
| Country has Legacy Slavery or Debt Slavery | +5 Social Democrat |
| Condition | Attraction | Shared With |
|---|---|---|
| Inherent to ideology | +5 Conservative | Devout |
| Is not marginalized | -5 Religious | |
| Clout ≥ 15% | +5 Conservative | |
| Country has Free Trade | +6 Agrarian, +3 Communist, +3 Social Democrat | Rural Folk, Trade Unions |
| Country has Universal Suffrage | +5 Conservative | Industrialists |
| Country has Universal Suffrage | +3 Fascist | |
| Country has Graduated Taxation | +2 Conservative | Industrialists |
| Country has Graduated Taxation | +3 Free Trade | Industrialists, Petite Bourgeoisie |
| Country has Women's Suffrage | +3 Conservative, +3 Religious | Devout |
| Country has Women in the Workplace | +2 Conservative | Devout |
| Researched Law Enforcement, Country has Right of Assembly or Protected Speech | +3 Conservative | Devout |
| Country does not have Monarchy or Theocracy | +3 Conservative | Devout |
| Country has Regulatory Bodies or Worker's Protections | +5 Conservative, +5 Free Trade | Industrialists |
| Country has Wage Subsidies or Old Age Pension | +5 Conservative, +5 Free Trade | Industrialists |
| Researched Law Enforcement, Country has No Police | +3 Conservative, +3 Fascist, +3 Military | Armed Forces, Petite Bourgeoisie |
| Country does not have Per-Capita Taxation or Consumption-Based Taxation | +3 Free Trade | Rural Folk |
| Researched Central Planning, Country has Command Economy | +3 Free Trade | Industrialists, Rural Folk |
| Condition | Attraction | Shared With |
|---|---|---|
| Inherent to ideology | −3 Communist, +5 Fascist | |
| Inherent to ideology | +5 Conservative, +4 Fascist | Armed Forces |
| Country has No Migration Controls | +6 Agrarian | Rural Folk, Trade Unions |
| Country has Land-Based Taxation | +6 Agrarian, +3 Anarchist, +3 Communist, +3 Social Democrat | Rural Folk |
| Country has Multiculturalism | +2 Conservative | |
| Country has Guaranteed Liberties | +2 Conservative | Armed Forces |
| Researched Law Enforcement, Country has No Police | +3 Conservative, +3 Fascist, +3 Military | Armed Forces |
| Country does not have Proportional Taxation or Per-Capita Taxation | +3 Fascist, +3 Military | |
| Researched Currency Standards, Country does not have Per-Capita Taxation or Consumption-Based Taxation | +3 Free Trade | Industrialists |
| Country has Graduated Taxation | +3 Free Trade | Industrialists, Landowners |
| Country has Hereditary Bureaucrats | +3 Liberal | Intelligentsia |
| Condition | Attraction | Shared With |
|---|---|---|
| Is powerful | +10 Agrarian | |
| Country has primary culture with Scandinavian Heritage | +10 Agrarian | Intelligentsia |
| Country has No Migration Controls | +6 Agrarian | Trade Unions, Petite Bourgeoisie |
| Country has No Migration Controls | +5 Fascist | |
| Country has Local Police Force or Militarized Police Force | +6 Agrarian, +3 Liberal | Intelligentsia |
| Country has Land-Based Taxation | +6 Agrarian, +3 Anarchist, +3 Social Democrat | Petite Bourgeoisie |
| Country has Free Trade | +6 Agrarian, +3 Communist, +3 Social Democrat | Trade Unions, Landowners |
| Country has Lassiez-Faire | +6 Agrarian, +3 Communist, +3 Social Democrat | Trade Unions |
| Country has Peasant Levies | +6 Agrarian, +3 Anarchist, +3 Communist, +3 Fascist, +3 Military | Armed Forces |
| Country has Serfdom | +10 Agrarian, +5 Anarchist, +5 Communist, +5 Liberal, +3 Radical, +5 Social Democrat | Trade Unions, Intelligentsia, Industrialists |
| Country does not have Per-Capita Taxation or Consumption-Based Taxation | +3 Free Trade | Landowners |
| Country has Command Economy | +3 Free Trade | Landowners, Industrialists |
| Country has Debt Slavery | +5 Liberal | |
| Country has Serfdom or Debt Slavery | +3 Radical |
| Condition | Attraction | Shared With |
|---|---|---|
| Inherent to Trade Unions | +2 Communist, −2 Fascist | |
| Country has No Migration Controls | +6 Agrarian | Rural Folk, Petite Bourgeoisie |
| Country has Free Trade | +6 Agrarian, +3 Communist, +3 Social Democrat | Rural Folk, Landowners |
| Country has Laissez-Faire | +6 Agrarian, +3 Communist, +3 Social Democrat | Rural Folk |
| Country has Serfdom | +10 Agrarian, +5 Anarchist, +5 Communist, +5 Liberal, +3 Radical, +5 Social Democrat | Intelligentsia, Industrialists, Rural Folk |
| Country has Outlawed Dissent | +3 Anarchist, +3 Liberal, +6 Radical, +3 Social Democrat | Intelligentsia |
| Country has Monarchy or Theocracy | +3 Anarchist, +3 Communist, +3 Liberal, +10 Radical, +3 Social Democrat | Intelligentsia |
| Country does not have Graduated Taxation | +3 Communist, +3 Social Democrat | |
| Country has Serfdom | +10 Agrarian, +5 Anarchist, +5 Communist, +5 Liberal, +3 Radical, +5 Social Democrat | Intelligentsia, Industrialists, Rural Folk |
| Country has No Schools or Religious Schools | +3 Liberal, +3 Social Democrat | Industrialists |
| Country has Legal Guardianship | +3 Liberal | Intelligentsia |
| Country does not have Per-Capita Taxation, Proportional Taxation or Graduated Taxation | +3 Military | Armed Forces |
| Country does not have Universal Suffrage | +10 Radical | Intelligentsia |
