Going to Brussels: A Population Perspective on Interest Representation in the EU

In this paper, we propose a new research strategy to better link interest representation studies to the study of European Integration. To assess the role of interest groups in European integration, we need comparative research designs to systematically vary contextual factors that shape the role of interest groups in a democracy. We develop a new comparative research strategy by focusing on organizational diversity of interest group populations. We define organizational diversity in terms of a policy orientation (i.e. the exercise of influence) and the means employed (i.e. participation of members). Based on a comparison of EU and a Dutch sample of interest groups, we find that membership orientation seems to be more important at the national level and that a policy orientation is more important at the EU level. We find that interest group activity is important throughout a wide range of policy domains and varies in terms of interests across national and European areas of competence. The business bias at the EU-level may be less normatively problematic given the inherent systemic characteristics of the EU. Our results confirm the usefulness of our research strategy in developing comparative designs in interest representation research and may be a start in building bridges between two important yet separate studies of EU policy making

Two Worlds Apart

Immigrant integration has become an intractable policy controversy in the Netherlands. One facet of this controversy involves the different ways in which immigrant integration has been framed by national and local governments. National government has formulated a "citizenship approach" to immigrant integration, whereas local governments often chose a more accommodative approach to migrant groups. In this article, the authors argue that this discrepancy originates from the divergent institutional logic of national and local integration policies. National integration policies have resulted from belief in strong central policy coordination, a sharp turn from depoliticization to politicization, responsiveness to a series of focus events, and mood swings during the past decades. Local integration policies, in contrast, are characterized by a considerable degree of pragmatic problem coping, in particular, the instrumental use of migrant organizations. As such, the divergent logics of national and local integration policies seem to represent two different worlds of problem framin

Open the door to more of the same? The development of interest group representation at the WTO

AbstractThe openness of the World Trade Organization (WTO) towards non-state actors has led to much debate among scholars and practitioners. The objective of this paper is to add empirical knowledge to this ongoing debate. In particular, we examine the effects of allowing interest groups to participate at WTO Ministerial Conferences (MCs) during 1996–2009 by analyzing a novel dataset of 1992 interest organizations that attended seven MCs. The data we present demonstrate that, in contrast to what many expected, the WTO did not attract a more diverse population of interest groups since these organizations were allowed to participate at MCs. Moreover, we observe an increasing overrepresentation of some specific issue-related interests, especially agriculture, and a strong presence of Northern American and European interest organizations attending MCs. Another important observation is that MCs are not particularly dominated by business interests at the expense of NGOs (non-governmental organization), who are also consistently well represented at the WTO meetings. Yet, the high levels of volatility observed at the level of individual organizations suggests that, although it is rather easy to start lobbying at WTO MCs, only a relatively small number of interest organizations keep a long lobbying presence at this level.</jats:p