Explaining the German lobbying register law and its reform: combining insights from the Multiple Streams Framework and Punctuated Equilibrium Theory

Abstract

This paper explains the adoption and reform of the German lobbying register law in 2021 and 2023 as a major policy change in German lobbying regulation. Using the Multiple Streams Framework and Punctuated Equilibrium Theory as theoretical lenses, we conduct a congruence analysis of 87 policy documents in a time period from 2017 to 2023. Empirical results show that the lobbying register law represents a quick solution to a different problem (a conflict-of-interest scandal) and explain the time it took the reform to re-emerge on the policy agenda due to shifted legislative priorities. In line with previous studies on lobbying regulation, we find that scandals need to be combined with other explanatory factors in order to elucidate the introduction and strengthening of transparency measures. These factors are on the micro-level and focus on how political action is channeled by key actors that make use of these scandals to increase pressure to act and generate further attention. With regard to our theoretical lenses, our analysis illustrates that both theories are needed to fully investigate the policy processes.