Lobbying and Interest Group Influence in EU Foreign Policy

Shapovalova, Natalia

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-98800-9_31

Cited by 7 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…In contrast, foreign and security policy is still widely perceived as a domain of Member State governments. However, recent studies have documented the activities and even influence of NGOs in the areas of EU arms exports policy (Joachim and Dembinski, ), EU policy towards the Israeli‐Palestinian conflict (Voltolini, ), sanctions and visa‐liberalization (Shapovalova, ). What is more, analyses of votes in the European Parliament demonstrate that EU external policies have been contested amongst the political groups (van den Putte et al ., ).…”

Section: Liberal Power Europe In Actionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Liberal Power Europe

Wagner

2017

J of Common Market Studies

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The European Union is best understood as a liberal poweras an actor that is composed of liberal democracies whose interests, identities and institutions motivate and constrain its policy. The conceptualization of the EU as a liberal power helps to overcome three shortcomings of alternative notions such as civilian power or Normative Power Europe: First, norms are not only understood as driving forces but also as constraints on foreign policy; second, liberal power Europe emphasizes the contested nature of norms and conflicts between norms and thus draws attention to the politics of EU external relations; third, it encourages an engagement with the vast literature on the distinctive policies of liberal democracies in international relations and foreign policy analysis. The EU's crisis management serves to illustrate the value-added of the liberal power Europe concept.

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Section: Liberal Power Europe In Actionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Liberal Power Europe

Wagner

2017

J of Common Market Studies

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“…Second, opportunities for access by different organisations are enhanced by the very existence of several (three) supranational institutions. Third, in areas characterised by more intergovernmental decision-making, supranational institutions are less open to input from interest groups: for example, the Commission's dialogue with organisations in CFSP is more informal and less institutionalised than in regulatory areas (Shapovalova 2019). Interior policies have been characterised by 'intergovernmentalism and relative secrecy, making it difficult for NGOs to remain effectively plugged into the process', and even after the 'communitarisation' of these policies they are seen as 'too sensitive for full NGO inclusion' (Uçarer 2018: 461).…”

Section: Forming Ties Across Policy Areas: the Impact Of Uneven Integration And Pluralismmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Research indicates the presence of large‐scale transnational coordination, particularly among NGOs that tend to be the most important actors in interior and foreign policy. Examples include the coordinated effort of more than 600 NGOs to push for the adoption and implementation of an EU code of conduct for arms export (Joachim & Dembinski 2011: 1158), the creation of the NGO Platform on EU Migration and Asylum Policy (Uçarer 2018) and the formation of NGO coalitions on issues of visa liberalisation for the EU's Eastern neighbours, EU sanctions on foreign states and CFSP missions (Shapovalova 2019: 432). Also, the research on NGOs’ cooperation in international institutions suggests that ‘having access to [international organisations] in order to get and to diffuse information can be a reason for cooperation between NGOs’ (Schneiker 2017: 326).…”

Section: Information Interests and Ties In The Eu Politymentioning

confidence: 99%

Interest group networks in the European Union

Bunea

Ibenskas

Weiler

2021

European J Political Res

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Interest group networks are crucial for understanding European Union (EU) integration, policymaking and interest representation. Yet, comparative analysis of interest organisation networks across EU policy areas is limited. This study provides the first large-scale investigation of interest group information networks across all EU policy domains. We argue that interest groups prioritise access to trustworthy and high-quality information coming from partners with shared policy goals. Thus, interest organisations form network ties with other organisations if the latter are from the same country, represent the same type of interest, or are policy insiders. The effect of these three factors varies across policy domains depending on the extent to which the institutional setting assures equal and broad organisational access to decision-making. Our empirical analysis operationalises information ties as Twitterfollower relationships among 7,388 interest organisations. In the first step of the analysis, we use Exponential Random Graph Models to examine tie formation in the full network and across 40 policy domains. We find strong but variable effects of country and interest type homophily and policy insiderness on the creation of network ties. In the second step, we examine how the effect of these three variables on tie formation varies with policy domain characteristics. We find that shared interest type and policy insiderness are less relevant for tie formation in (re-)distributive and especially regulatory policy domains characterised by more supranational decision-making. Sharing an interest type and being a policy insider matters more for tie formation in foreign and interior policies where decision-making is more intergovernmental. The effect of country homophily is less clearly related to policy type and decision-making mode. Our findings emphasise the importance of institutional and policy context in shaping interest group networks in the EU.

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“…However, this is not the case in EU external human rights policy, where the Council of the EU (the Council), its preparatory bodies and the European External Action Service (EEAS) are the most important players. The role of NGOs in external policy and relations with these institutions have only been occasionally researched (Shapovalova 2019). One recent exception is Bossuyt (2021), who concludes that NGOs have a moderate influence over the EU's human rights policy in the post-Soviet space.…”

Section: Ngos In Eu Policymakingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although their involvement in internal EU policymaking has been well studied in the literature on lobbying and interest representation in the EU, the same cannot be said for the EU's external action. NGOs' roles in the implementation of external action and as contact points in third countries have been examined, but very little is known about the extent to which they try to influence this policymaking itself, and how they do so (Shapovalova 2019;Bossuyt 2021). Due to the closed-off character of foreign policymaking in the EU, there is a lack of information on its dynamics and the involvement of NGOs, despite growing calls for transparency (Vanhoonacker and Pomorska 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Moral policy entrepreneurship: the role of NGOs in the EU’s external human rights policy towards China

Buntinx

Colli

2021

Journal of Contemporary European Studies

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Although it is acknowledged that NGOs play an important role in the EU's policymaking, their role in external action is less studied due to the often closed-off character of foreign policymaking. This study helps to fill this gap by analysing the role of NGOs in the EU's external human rights policy towards China regarding the Xinjiang crisis. It is based on a content analysis of EU and NGO documents, as well as interviews with EU and NGO representatives. We find that NGOs act not just as policy entrepreneurs, but as moral policy entrepreneurs: they combine expertise with moral arguments about the EU's responsibility as a human rights leader to push the Xinjiang crisis higher on the EU's agenda and guide its response.

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Lobbying and Interest Group Influence in EU Foreign Policy

Cited by 7 publications

References 18 publications

Liberal Power Europe

Liberal Power Europe

Interest group networks in the European Union

Moral policy entrepreneurship: the role of NGOs in the EU’s external human rights policy towards China

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