Project on the dual role of lobbying supported by ERC grant

Lobbying is a double-edged sword: Some see it as a threat to democracy. Others emphasise that democracy cannot function without it. A new research project is based on the assumption that both sides have good arguments.

"Lobbying is often beneficial because it leads to more informed political decisions. In some cases, however, it leads to special interests outweighing the public interest," explains Wiebke Marie Junk, Associate Professor at the Department of Political Science.

She is heading the project called "Lobbying (A)symmetry: The Dynamics Behind Informed Policy (LOBBYMETRY)", which had recently been selected to receive a Sapere Aude grant from the Independent Research Fund Denmark. Now Wiebke Marie Junk has received the good news that the European Research Council wants to invest even more in the project (11 million Danish kroner). The project’s scope can therefore be expanded and Wiebke has declined the Sapere Aude grant in favour of the ERC Starting Grant.

Two types of inequality come into play

The project builds on seminal theories of lobbying to cast light on different types of asymmetries in the lobbying process that can help explain when lobbying champions special interests.

"We know far too little about these asymmetries and we lack empirical evidence to assess how and when lobbying develops beneficial or harmful dynamics," Wiebke Marie Junk points out.

In the LOBBYMETRY project, she and her team will therefore investigate two central forms of inequality in lobbying.

"Firstly, unequal mobilisation, which means that some interests are not expressed. Secondly, information asymmetries that make policymakers overly dependent on single organisations when gauging the consequences of possible policy interventions," explains Wiebke Marie Junk.

Focus on green transition and digital policy

In the LOBBYMETRY project, these asymmetries and their interplay are analysed across twelve European countries and at EU level. In particular, the researchers will examine decision-making processes in two policy areas: the green transition and digital policy.

"The project will contribute with new knowledge about lobbying and public policy, as well as practical insights on how political institutions can strengthen their involvement of interest organisations – and thus prevent the dark side of lobbying," says Wiebke Marie Junk.

Methodologically, the project combines cross-country surveys, data across 100 climate and digital policy issues, and the observation of information exchanges between policymakers and stakeholder organisations in natural and research-controlled settings.

“This combination of methods will give us unprecedented quantitative and qualitative evidence of information exchange between lobbyists and politicians in different contexts,” Wiebke Marie Junk expects.