lobbying
Lobbying in times of (Corona)-Crisis: the Good, the Bad and the Ugly
The Good: This crisis demonstrates the societal and political relevance of membership federations
Co-authored with Adria Albareda, Caelesta Braun, Moritz Muller & Erin Sullivan (Leiden University)
To say this is not an easy time for policymakers, is probably the understatement of the year. Unfolding events have not only occurred inconsistently, but at times, with dramatic pace. Take for instance relaxing restrictions on particular economic activities, or tracking the number of infected and deceased persons; reliable information remains hard to come by, heightening the levels of uncertainty that concern both the effectiveness and societal legitimacy of proposed policy measures.
More than ever, this foregrounds core assumptions that elected policymakers and civil servants require and seek input from various actors and organizations. Information necessary need not only to be highly accurate but provided promptly to account for specific political realities and societal needs. While a lot of attention has focused on policy involvement of academic experts (and their (lack of) substantive diversity), the role of other key societal actors in this process — namely interest groups, are often overlooked, or at best, severely misunderstood.
When we use the label interest groups, we refer to a diverse set of organizations, such as NGOs, civil society organizations (such as patients), industry federations (for instance hospital industry) and professional groups (e.g. nurses). All are considered crucial intermediary organizations, who have the capacity to form a crucial bridge or ‘transmission belt’ between citizens and policymakers. More specifically, they provide input and preferences from their members (citizens, professionals or companies) to policymakers, and ensure that information and details about new government measures reaches the target population and is implemented in an adequate way by their members.
While the contemporary relevance of these intermediary organizations is often questioned, in times like these, membership organizations, and so-called umbrella groups that have a broad policy orientation and other associations as members (think of Chamber of Commerce, or Federations of NGOs) continue to show their relevance.
Two simultaneous processes seem to confirm and reinforce their central role. First, as clarified above, the demand for information from policymakers is very high and unremitting on a variety of issues, ranging from questions of how to support certain industries and companies in these dire economic times, to insight into the effectiveness of certain treatments for people infected with the Corona-virus. Second, countless professionals and companies are equally dependent on information provided by interest groups. Many industry, NGO, and professional federations have seen a high increase in member involvement or donations in the last few weeks, as their members (or supporters) look for a reliable source of information, and are keen to remain fully up-to-date with policy measures and the ways in which they need to be implemented.
Although this same dynamic occurs regardless of a crisis, interactions between members (such as companies, NGOs and professionals) and the umbrella groups that represent their interests, often intensify in turbulent times with high levels of (legal) uncertainty. Thanks to their intermediary position, interest groups are one of the few actors who can provide reliable information to their members about the repercussions of Covid19 for their working environments. For instance, through their contacts with policy and decision-makers, interest groups are better positioned to inform the firms they represent about the dates they will be allowed to return back to work, and the conditions and regulations they may have to comply with.
A prime example in this regard is the many Corona-guidelines professional and business associations in the Netherlands have developed on how to make companies corona-proof when restarting their business again after the lockdowns. Based on a collaborative effort by the national government and the main employers’ and business associations, different professions and sectors have collected Corona-guidelines and shared best practices via a dedicated website. This “other” side of the transmission belt is an important but mostly overlooked function of interest groups, as a transmission belt works in two directions: these organizations do not only aggregate and transfer the preferences of their members to policymakers, they also digest and communicate messages from policymakers to their membership and society at large.
This is part 2 of a blog series of lobbying in times of (Corona)-crisis
Part 1: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Part 3: The Bad: The challenge of looking beyond narrow, private and short-term interests
