About this Research Topic
Lobbying takes place across venues and the globe. And yet studies of lobbying tend to focus narrowly on one country, one level of government, or one branch of government. In this Research Topic of Frontiers in Political Science, we seek work that will add to our knowledge of how lobbying varies across places and contexts. We envision publishing three types of work in particular.
First, there is work that compares lobbying across countries. Work in this vein asks: How does lobbying vary across countries? Are there discernible commonalities in the lobbying that takes place in certain regions (e.g., Africa, Asia, Central America, North America, Western Europe, South Asia)? How does lobbying in the global south look different from lobbying in the global north?
Second, there is work focused on one country that examines lobbying across levels of government. Here, we have in mind work that compares state and federal lobbying in the United States. Studies of countries outside the USA might focus on differences between central government lobbying and sub-central government lobbying. Some may even focus on the lobbying of supra-national entities.
Third, there is work focused on one country and one level of government that examines lobbying across branches of government. Most lobbying research focusing on the American context examines lobbying in a single branch of government (e.g., the legislature). There is a lot to learn about how lobbyists and the groups they represent work across branches of government and even outside government (via grassroots lobbying). In the end, we seek research that is comparative in nature or at least adds to our theoretical understanding of how the political environment and context influence lobbying activity.
This projects seeks to examine how lobbying varies across nations, levels of government, and in different venues. The goal is to be able to compare lobbying in different political environments.
We are interested in original research on lobbying in different contexts. While we are particulalry interested in comparisons, we welcome manuscripts focusing on lobbying in single countries or single venues.
First, there is work that compares lobbying across countries. Work in this vein asks: How does lobbying vary across countries? Are there discernible commonalities in the lobbying that takes place in certain regions (e.g., Africa, Asia, Central America, North America, Western Europe, South Asia)? How does lobbying in the global south look different from lobbying in the global north?
Second, there is work focused on one country that examines lobbying across levels of government. Here, we have in mind work that compares state and federal lobbying in the United States. Studies of countries outside the USA might focus on differences between central government lobbying and sub-central government lobbying. Some may even focus on the lobbying of supra-national entities.
Third, there is work focused on one country and one level of government that examines lobbying across branches of government. Most lobbying research focusing on the American context examines lobbying in a single branch of government (e.g., the legislature). There is a lot to learn about how lobbyists and the groups they represent work across branches of government and even outside government (via grassroots lobbying). In the end, we seek research that is comparative in nature or at least adds to our theoretical understanding of how the political environment and context influence lobbying activity.
This projects seeks to examine how lobbying varies across nations, levels of government, and in different venues. The goal is to be able to compare lobbying in different political environments.
We are interested in original research on lobbying in different contexts. While we are particulalry interested in comparisons, we welcome manuscripts focusing on lobbying in single countries or single venues.
Keywords: Lobbying, Interest Groups, Venues, Comparative
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
