What is it about?
Interest groups everywhere, including the European Union, hire external political consultancies. The goal of hiring them is to become better at representing one's positions to policy makers. Data from a new survey show that business associations and firms hire political consultancies the most. Business associations work with consultancies to keep their members happy, firms hire them to obtain special concessions from policy makers.
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Why is it important?
On the one hand, it reveals that political consultancies serve distinct purposes to their clients (associations' membership promotion vs firms seeking particular political concessions). On the other hand, their involvement has also direct consequences on policy processes. Their involvement has the potential to both positively and negatively impact the legitimacy of policies.
Perspectives
This article is directed to an academic audience, but I believe it might also be of practical relevance. It shows to lobbying practitioners how prevalent collaboration with consultants is, what type of services are in demand, and which organisations demand them the most.
Oliver Huwyler
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Interest groups in the European Union and their hiring of political consultancies, European Union Politics, January 2020, SAGE Publications,
DOI: 10.1177/1465116519897820.
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