Representing interest groups: umbrella organisations enjoy preferential access to the legislative arena but not to the media

Lobbying for access to parliamentary and media debates potentially allows organisations to represent the interests of their members and exert political influence. Wiebke Marie Junk looks at which types of interest groups are favoured when it comes to lobbying access in the United Kingdom and Germany. She finds that access to the legislature is higher for ‘umbrella’ organisations that unite many member groups, while representing a higher number of individual people does not seem to matter

Are citizens responsive to interest groups? A field experiment on lobbying and intended citizen behaviour

The ability to mobilise public opinion is central to interest group politics. Yet, whether and how groups succeed in swaying the public remains inconclusive. The article assesses this by conducting a field experiment in which a consumer group sent different versions of campaign material to a representative sample of over 5000 citizens. Relying on a two-wave panel survey, it shows that while the campaign affected intended consumer behaviour, it did not influence attitudes. Surprisingly, material by the organisation alone was more effective than material sent with a partner. Moreover, campaign references to personal experiences and facts were not more effective than material referring to public opinion. The findings challenge existing evidence on how sender and message characteristics affect the likelihood of influencing citizens. At the same time, they underline that public opinion is hard to change and have important implications for understanding political representation and interest groups in democratic politics.publishedVersio

Is this a men’s world? On the need to study descriptive representation of women in lobbying and policy advocacy

How well are women represented in the world of political advocacy? Despite the important role of interest groups in modern democracies, the demographic composition of the interest group community remains a blind spot in public policy research. Based on data on over 1000 lobbyists in five European countries, we suggest that the share of women in the world of advocacy is significantly lower than in parliaments. We therefore argue that gender biases in political advocacy need to move high up on the research agenda. As key avenues for future studies, we raise the effects these imbalances have on agenda setting and political decision-making, as well as their symbolic effects on female participation and perceived legitimacy. Moreover, we call for research addressing the complex supply and demand-side factors that cause gender inequalities in lobbying to address this problem in practice.publishedVersio

Accountability and opposition to globalization in international assemblies

Advocates of a global democratic parliament have expressed hopes that this would not only legitimize global governance in procedural terms, but also bring about more cosmopolitan policies. They point to the European Parliament as an example of a successful real existing democratic parliament beyond the state with cosmopolitan intent. We analyse plenary debates in the United Nations General Assembly and the European Parliament about the issues of climate change, human rights, migration, trade and European integration between 2004 and 2011 to study the nature of opposition to cosmopolitanism within these two assemblies. We find more vocal and better-organized opposition to cosmopolitanism in the European Parliament than in the United Nations General Assembly. We demonstrate the plausibility that direct and more proportional mechanisms of delegation and accountability in the case of the European Parliament account for this observed difference. Should further research confirm these initial findings, advocates of a global democratic parliament may find that an empowered democratic World Parliament would support less cosmopolitan policies than the current United Nations General Assembly

Framing and lobbying success: why it pays to work as a team

Communication and 'framing' strategies are part of the toolkit used by lobbyists to influence policy making. But do such strategies have a real impact on policy outcomes? Drawing on new research from five European countries, Wiebke Marie Junk and Anne Rasmussen show that framing strategies only work as part of a team effort, but they can have a substantial effect on the lobbying success of individual lobbyists

Viral Lobbying

Pandemic policies have been the focus of fierce lobbying competition by different social and economic interests. The contributions in this book analyse patterns in and implications of this ‘viral lobbying’. Based on surveys and focus group interviews, the book provides novel evidence on the lobbying strategies used during the pandemic, as well as the resulting access to and lobbying influence on public policy

Viral Lobbying

Pandemic policies have been the focus of fierce lobbying competition by different social and economic interests. The contributions in this book analyse patterns in and implications of this ‘viral lobbying’. Based on surveys and focus group interviews, the book provides novel evidence on the lobbying strategies used during the pandemic, as well as the resulting access to and lobbying influence on public policy

Campus Brussels Podcast: 'Viral Lobbying: Book launch'

Organised by Marcel Hanegaaff, Michele Crepaz and Wiebke Marie Jun