Interest Groups, Political Parties & Politicians

Abstract

This panel examines the relationships between interest groups, political parties, and individual politicians, highlighting how formal and informal ties shape policy outcomes. The contributions move beyond traditional analyses of lobbying within established policy arenas to consider a broader set of mechanisms—including financial relationships, personal networks, party affiliations, and the effects of populism and political salience—through which organized interests engage with political actors. A first shared theme is the role of relational and informal mechanisms in political influence: contributions show how personal connections, historical ties, and party-proximate leadership shape policy outcomes, particularly during sensitive or opaque stages such as coalition negotiations or behind-the-scenes decision-making. Second, the panel emphasizes the significance of political context. Papers highlight how party-level populism and issue salience condition both the opportunities and constraints for interest group engagement. Third, the contributions underscore heterogeneity across actors and issue domains. Some papers examine systemic patterns, such as financial payments to MPs or the strategic use of former politicians as organizational leaders, while others explore issue-specific dynamics, such as labor migration. Overall, the panel advances the study of interest group–party interactions by integrating relational, institutional, and contextual perspectives.

Title	Details
Behind Closed Doors: Exploring Informal Mechanisms of Interest Group Influence During Coalition Negotiations	View Paper Details
Accessing Government by Paying Politicians: Evidence from the UK House of Commons	View Paper Details
Populism and the Changing Dynamics of Party–Interest Group Relations Evidence from Central Europe	View Paper Details
Interest Group Leadership as Political Networking	View Paper Details
Employers’ Associations in Noisy Politics: Labor Migration Policy in German and Dutch Agriculture	View Paper Details