This introduction argues for the need to study ‘pressure’ and the Westminster parliament across three centuries, from roughly 1660 to 1914. While no definition will satisfy all researchers, this essay suggests that the category of ‘representative pressure’ is useful in highlighting those claims for special consideration by parliament which fell outside either the electoral system of representation or outright defiance of parliamentary sovereignty. By considering the historiography of ‘pressure’ and the influence of social science models of ‘interest groups’, the essay argues for a more fluid understanding of pressure as a dynamic rather than a force on parliament from without. A further section examines ways in which those pressuring parliament often championed their interests as national, not selfish or sectional, through examples of imperial pressures and particularly the West India lobby and its enemies. Assaying the contributions of other essays in this volume, the introduction concludes by pointing to the multiplication and institutionalisation of avenues of pressure across this period, rather than a teleological rise of popular sovereignty over parliamentary deliberation.

中文翻译：

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竞争利益：重新思考压力、议会、国家和帝国

本介绍认为有必要研究跨越三个世纪（大约从 1660 年到 1914 年）的“压力”和威斯敏斯特议会。虽然没有一个定义能让所有研究人员满意，但本文认为“代表压力”这一类别有助于突出这些主张由议会特别考虑，不属于选举代表制或公然蔑视议会主权。通过考虑“压力”的历史编纂和“利益集团”的社会科学模型的影响，本文主张将压力更流畅地理解为一种动态，而不是一种从外部施加于议会的力量。另一部分研究了那些向议会施压的人通常以何种方式捍卫他们的国家利益，而不是自私或部门利益，通过帝国压力的例子，特别是西印度游说团体及其敌人。在分析本卷其他文章的贡献时，引言最后指出了这一时期压力途径的倍增和制度化，而不是人民主权对议会审议的目的论上升。