The Effectiveness of Grassroots Lobbying at the Regional Level in Poland: The Cases of Opole and Subcarpathian Region

Abstract

This article examines the effectiveness of grassroots lobbying at the regional level in Poland. For the purpose of the article, “loyalty to the citizens versus party theory” was formulated. It distinguishes two stages of the policy-making process within which the councilors react differently to grassroots lobbying. The first stage refers to the preparation of the law by the region’s board. The theory assumes that the more people pressure the legislator to persuade the board to their initiative, the more inclined he is to endorse it. This way he proves loyalty to the citizens and secures his reelection. The second stage concerns the legislators’ voting behavior. In this case, grassroots lobbying has a neutral impact on them. The councilors remain loyal to the party leaders and vote accordingly so that their position on the party list is guaranteed in the next election. In order to verify the theory, a study consisting of anonymous interviews with sixty legislators from the Opole and Subcarpathian Assembly was conducted. The outcome of the research indicates that (1) a considerable majority of legislators were positively influenced by grassroots lobbying to pressure the region’s board; (2) the voting behavior of the majority of legislators was not impacted by grassroots lobbying; (3) grassroots lobbying is the most effective at the first stage of the policy-making process; (4) the structure of government does not determine the legislators’ reaction to grassroots lobbying; (5) the party’s status (in power or in opposition) impacts the legislator’s voting behavior.

When is grassroots lobbying effective? The case of the e-petitions at the national level in the UK

“…While many studies on grassroots lobbying have been conducted (Baumgartner et al 2009;Bergan 2009;Cluverius 2017Cluverius , 2021Godwin et al 2012;Hojnacki and Kimball 1999;Kollman 1998;Olejnik 2023), academics still struggle with at least one fundamental question related to this phenomenon: when is grassroots lobbying effective? Grassroots lobbying actions are carried out by 'non-lobbyist citizens directly contacting government officials' (Cluverius 2021, p. 137).…”

“…Among the most common techniques of grassroots lobbying, one can differentiate: pressuring authorities through media and online campaigns, staging demonstrations and protests as well as submitting petitions and e-petitions (Olejnik 2023;Weiler and Brändli 2015). In this paper, I examined in which circumstances the latter technique, i.e.…”

“…This article covers a research gap as it attempts to answer those research questions in the case of the UK Parliament and Government e-petition system with the use of the theories on the effectiveness of lobbying: the signalling theory (also known as the costly-signalling theory) (Bergan 2009;Cluverius 2017;Olejnik 2023), the economic theory of political information (Cluverious, 2017(Cluverious, , 2021 and the claim that the goal of lobbying activity (the change versus protection of the status quo policy) is one of the best predictors of lobbying's success or failure (Baumgartner's et al 2009). These theories have not yet been used in the case of the e-petition systems, which makes this paper exceptional.…”

“…Each theory examines the efficacy of lobbying from a different angle. From the perspective of the costly-signalling theory, the effectiveness of grassroots lobbying depends on the scale of the citizens' engagement in the lobbying campaign (Kollman 1998;Cluverius 2017;Olejnik 2023). Conversely, the economic theory of political information indicates that the trust in the information provided to the authorities by the authors of grassroots lobbying actions has become 2 For instance, the Conservative Party promised in its 2017 manifesto that it will enhance the standards for people with autism and learning disabilities and implement the Transforming Care Programme (Conservative Party 2017), which would significantly reduce the number of people detained in the mental health hospitals (NHS England 2017).…”

The Influence of Political Lobbying on Healthcare Legislation: A Critical Examination

“…The role of grassroots lobbying and public opinion in shaping healthcare legislation also warrants further investigation. Olejnik (2021) provides an in-depth look at the effectiveness of grassroots lobbying at the regional level in Poland, shedding light on the power of collective citizen action. Expanding on this work, future studies could explore how grassroots movements and public advocacy campaigns interact with traditional lobbying efforts by industry groups, and how this interplay influences healthcare policy decisions (Olejnik, 2021).…”