1st Edition
Lobbying Success in the European Union The Role of Information and Frames
Having information is key for most political decisions – both for decision-makers and societal actors. This is especially crucial in democratic countries where external stakeholders are invited to participate in decision-making pro- cesses. Assuming that every actor that gets involved in decision-making processes has a particular lobbying goal, there is a
heterogeneous set of actors competing against each other to provide information to the decision-makers. This competition leads some stakeholders to be more successful in achieving their goals than others. Frames, and the framing of information, play an important role in such lobbying success.
In this book, Daniel Rasch questions whether and, if so, how, information impacts lobbying success and shows how various actors perform in three instances of European decision-making. He does so by combining findings from a qualitative content analysis with the results of a cross-case analysis using the quantified qualitative data. The new dataset contains a representative sample of over 200 position papers from EU level and national consultations, press releases and evidence from national stakeholders in Germany, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
Lobbying Success in the European Union effectively bridges research on interest mediation and framing studies, and offers a new model for measuring stakeholders’ success. This new and pragmatic approach to study lobbying success using a traceable and easy to use instrument can be adapted to any policy analysis and any issue.
Acknowledgements 1. Introduction 2. Researching Informational Lobbying and The Effect of Frames 3. Measuring Lobbying Goals and Lobbying Success 4. Lobbying Success in The European Union: Three Case Studies 5. Conclusion
Biography
Daniel Rasch is a postdoctoral fellow at the German University of Administrative Sciences Speyer, Germany. He studied history, political and social science at Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany and Stockholm University, Sweden. His research focuses on interest mediation, public policy, public administration as well as mixed methods.
'Daniel Rasch has written an important book on how framing affects political advocacy in the European Union. Building on some impressive datasets, he demonstrates that organized interests significantly affect a substantial number of – but not all – policy outcomes. The breath of this study, an innovative combination of qualitative and quantitate data, leads him to develop fine-grained conclusions on how policymakers differ in their receptiveness towards varying types of policy frames.' - Jan Beyers, Francqui Research Professor, University of Antwerp
'This book is a must-read for anyone interested in lobbying and the health of democratic processes. In both the U.S. and Europe, we know that the arguments interest groups make and the information they supply to policy makers matter, but rigorously studying this phenomenon has been very difficult. Rasch brings together an impressive amount of qualitative and quantitative data to study one of the most fundamental questions of democracy: to what extent do the voices of the people shape the laws of the land?' - Christine Mahoney, Professor of Public Policy and Politics, University of Virginia
