Europeanization of lobbying activities: When national interest groups spill over to the European level

(Heike Klüver, University of Mannheim)

The increasing transfer of competencies to the European level together with the growing heterogeneity of European interest federations put national interest groups under extensive pressure. In order to guarantee the representation of their specific interests on the European level, national interest groups cannot solely rely on European interest federations, but need to lobby the European institutions directly. However, not all national interest groups do so. This article therefore analyzes under which conditions national interest associations engage on the European level. In order to explain the Europeanization of lobbying activities, a theoretical framework is developed that combines resource-based and institutionalist approaches. It is empirically tested by an examination of lobbying strategies of French and German agricultural interest groups in the Doha Round. The empirical evidence draws on a comprehensive survey among agricultural interest groups conducted in 2005/06. In methodological terms, this study combines a comparative research design with the Multi-Value QCA approach. The main conclusion of this study is that resources as well as the domestic national institutional context determine whether national interest groups Europeanize their lobbying strategies or not.