Organised for Influence: Organised Interests in National, European and International Arenas

Organised interests are crucial to the study of politics. Interest groups and civil society organisations operate in increasingly complex environments where political influence may be sought across different arenas in national systems as well as in multi-level systems including the EU and International arenas. A rapidly growing, and increasingly cumulative, literature has advanced our understanding of the political role of organised interests as scholars have begun to tackle the difficult question of theorising and measuring group influence. The section aims to bring together scholars studying organised interests across different political venues ranging from the sub-national to the international level. We welcome in particular theory- and problem-driven empirical research in which different types of organised interests are systematically compared across levels of government, across countries or across different venues within the same political system. The section will include panels focusing on national as well as European and international venues. Also, a set of panels will focus on group relations to different types of actors such as bureaucrats, parties and the media. The section is supported by the ECPR Standing Group on Interest Groups.