Lobbying in Turbulent Times: Expanding Horizons in Interest Group Research

Interest groups stand at the heart of today’s turbulent political systems. The environment in which they operate is undergoing profound transformation. The rise of radical right- and left-wing parties, growing skepticism toward democratic institutions, and heightened polarization have unsettled established patterns of representation and contestation. These political shifts are compounded by recurrent societal crises ranging from social inequality and climate change to migration and public health emergencies that continuously reorder public priorities and policy agendas. At the same time, decision-making processes are become increasingly mediatized and politicized, while authority is dispersed across local, national, and international levels. Adding to this complexity, digital technologies are reshaping how interest groups mobilize supporters, communicate with the public, and attempt to exert influence. Taken together, these developments generate both mounting pressures and novel opportunities for organized interests, making continuous adaptation in their strategies, organizational structures, and modes of engagement with political institutions indispensable. This section brings together research that examines how interest groups navigate these turbulent political environments and exert influence across the policy process. Contributions may explore how lobbyists strategically deploy digital tools, data analytics, artificial intelligence, and social media to reach policymakers, mobilize supporters, and shape public opinion. Interest group influence is not confined to a single institutional setting. Organizations increasingly operate across diverse arenas, from informal advisory bodies and regulatory agencies to supranational institutions and transnational forums. We therefore welcome research that examines venue selection, multi-level governance, and cross-sectoral networks illuminates how interest groups pursue influence in both conventional and unconventional decision-making venues, and how they navigate the interconnections between them. Effective lobbying also depends on organizational resilience. Operating in resource-constrained and highly competitive and increasingly contested environments, groups must continuously manage membership, staff, and funding while remaining strategically flexible. This section therefore invites contributions that examine how interest groups adapt internally over time and provide insights into the sustainability of advocacy efforts. The broader political context further shapes opportunities and constraints. Rising populism, partisan polarization, and challenges to democratic legitimacy affect lobbying strategies, access to policymakers, and public reception of interest group activities. Meanwhile, lobbying in emerging regions—such as Central and Eastern Europe or the Global South—and on frontier policy issues, including AI regulation, global health governance, and international conflicts like sanctions, trade wars, and humanitarian crises, highlights the dynamic, context-dependent nature of influence. These new contexts have also given rise to non-traditional lobbying actors, including grassroots movements, think thanks, or individual citizens, which pursue influence through innovative strategies and unconventional channels. This section welcomes contributions examining the role of new societal developments, lobbying in underexplored regions and on frontier issues, and the emergence of new actors. Capturing these dynamics requires methodological innovation. Beyond surveys, interviews, and traditional content analysis, approaches such as network analysis, automated text analysis, computational modeling, process tracing, experimental or longitudinal designs, and online data collection (e.g., API or web scraping) uncover subtle, indirect, or previously hidden forms of influence. We welcome submissions that advance methodological approaches for studying lobbying, including papers that develop or apply innovative techniques, combine multiple methods, or leverage new data sources to track interest group lobbying across time, space, and stages of the policy process. The section also foregrounds normative and democratic concerns. In turbulent environments, questions of transparency, accountability, and legitimacy become especially salient, as inequalities in access and influence risk being amplified. We welcome submissions that examine how lobbying practices affect public perceptions, societal trust, and institutional legitimacy, contributing to broader debates on democratic governance and political accountability. By adopting a broad comparative and interdisciplinary perspective, the section seeks to advance understanding of contemporary interest representation. We invite contributions that engage with political communication, party politics, international relations, political economy, public administration, or political sociology, and encourage submissions from both established and early-career scholars employing diverse theoretical approaches. We invite papers addressing one or more of these themes, while also welcoming proposals for additional panels. This list is intended to be illustrative rather than exhaustive. 1. Lobbying Across Political Arenas: Explores how interest groups operate across diverse institutional and multi-level settings, including informal, formal, and transnational arenas. 2. Populism, Polarization, and Lobbying: Investigates how rising populism and political polarization shape lobbying strategies, access to policymakers, and public perceptions of interest group activities. 3. Digital and Data-Driven Lobbying: Assesses how emerging digital technologies reshape lobbying practices, including the use of artificial intelligence, data-driven messaging, and online platforms. 4. Organizational Adaptation and Resilience: Analyzes how interest groups manage internal resources, survival, and institutional change in competitive and uncertain environments. 5. Methodological Innovation: Showcases cutting-edge methodological approach for studying lobbying, including computational text analysis, process tracing, and experimental designs. 6. Emerging Regions and New Policy Issues: Investigates lobbying strategies and influence patterns in emerging regions (e.g., Central and Eastern Europe, the Global South) and on frontier issues such as AI regulation or international conflicts. 7. Comparative and Cross-Issue Perspectives: Highlights differences in lobbying strategies and influence patterns across policy domains, sectors, and political systems. 8. Normative and Legitimacy Dimensions: Examines how lobbying affects equity, representation, public trust, and the legitimacy of political institutions. 9. Transparency and Accountability: Studies the impact of regulations, consultation practices, and transparency measures on access, influence, and the accountability of interest groups. 10. Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Interest Representation: Encourages research that bridges lobbying studies with other disciplines such as political communication, public administration, party politics or political sociology.