Contextual Embeddedness and Interest Group Politics

Abstract

The number of interest groups is booming, both at the domestic and the EU level. In addition, national and supranational governments increasingly cooperate with other institutional actors and organised interests. Considering the increasingly multi-level and multi-institutional EU policy process, interest groups have various opportunities to shape policy initiatives, as they can engage in horizontal and vertical venue-shopping as the policy cycle evolves from agenda setting to implementation. However, research has demonstrated that most interest groups are not active on all these levels, nor stay present during the entire process. In other words, within the interest group population, great differences exist in the advocacy tactics regarding how, when and where to lobby. To explain these differences, theories from a rational choice and historical institutionalism perspective primarily concentrate on the actors themselves, while paying less attention to the broader context within which these actors are embedded. In contrast, studies applying a neo-pluralist lens have argued that organisations are considerably affected by environmental factors, such as the interest group population, their own network and institutional opportunities and constraints. However, there are only a small number of studies that actually measure and control for the contextual embeddedness of an organisation when explaining their behaviour or influence. This panel explores the external environment in which interest organisations are embedded in order to come to a better understanding of the strategies they adopt to influence policy-making. In particular, we will discuiss the network and institutional variables to lobbying behaviour at different venues and different moments in time, as well as making a cross-national and/or cross-sectoral comparison.

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