DAFF 25A76 - Business Power and Lobbying in the EU
DAFF 25A76 · Spring semester 2025-2026
- Language of tuition
- English
- Course type
- Cours séminaire
- Number of hours
- 24
- Credits
- 5
Information
Description
The class aims to provide students with the necessary theoretical and analytical tools to reconstruct and assess interest groups' roles, resources, action strategies, and influence capacity in EU policymaking, with a focus on business groups. This will be done through an in-depth focus on the factors, institutional venues, processes and dynamics specifically shaping business interests’ lobbying and influence in the EU. The concepts and approaches presented during the course will be applied to a set of relevant policy case studies, so as to analyze and learn how lobbying concretely works and when it proves to be successful. Thus, the class mixes the theory and practice of corporate lobbying in the EU, providing students with a comprehensive preparation on the subject.
Prerequisites
A basic knowledge of the functioning of the political and institutional system of the European Union is recommended.
Assessment
1 individual seminar presentation with a topic chosen or approved by the instructor (presented during the seminar sessions (40%)
1 synopsis (fiche de lecture) (article, report, policy analysis) 40%
Student engagement during the semester (participation in class discussions during and outside of class, ability to ask questions, and class citizenship etc.) (20%)
Readings
Main readings 5
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Bouwen, P. (2004). Exchanging access goods for access: A comparative study of business lobbying in the European Union institutions. European Journal of Political Research, 43(3), 337-369.
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Coen, D., Katsaitis, A., & Vannoni, M. (2021). Business lobbying in the European Union. Oxford University Press.
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Offe, C., & Wiesenthal, H. (1980). Two Logics of Collective Action: Theoretical Notes on Social Class and Organizational Form. Political Power and Social Theory, 1(1), 67–115.
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Van Apeldoorn, B. (2001). “The struggle over European order: Transnational class agency in the making of ‘embedded neo-liberalism’”. In A. Bieler, A. D. Morton (eds.) Social forces in the making of the New Europe: The restructuring of European social relations in the global political economy (pp. 70-89). London: Palgrave Macmillan UK.
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Van Schendelen, R. (2013). The art of lobbying the EU: More Machiavelli in Brussels. Amsterdam University Press (Fourth edition).
Further readings 30
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Baumgartner, F. R. (2007). EU Lobbying: A view from the US. Journal of European Public Policy, 14(3), 482-488.
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Bell, S. (2012). The power of ideas: The ideational shaping of the structural power of business. International Studies Quarterly, 56(4), 661-673.
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Berkhout, J. (2013). Why interest organizations do what they do: Assessing the explanatory potential of “exchange” approaches. Interest Groups & Advocacy, 2, 227-250.
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Bernhagen, P., & Bräuninger, T. (2005). Structural power and public policy: A signaling model of business lobbying in democratic capitalism. Political studies, 53(1), 43-64.
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Beyers, J., Dür, A., & Wonka, A. (2018). The political salience of EU policies. Journal of European Public Policy, 25(11), 1726-1737.
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Bouwen, P. (2004). Exchanging access goods for access: A comparative study of business lobbying in the European Union institutions. European Journal of Political Research, 43(3), 337-369.
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Bowman, J. R. (1982). The Logic of Capitalist Collective Action. Social Science Information, 21(4–5), 571–560.
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Bunea, A. (2018). Legitimacy through targeted transparency? Regulatory effectiveness and sustainability of lobbying regulation in the European Union. European Journal of Political Research, 57(2), 378-403.
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Bunea, A., & Ibenskas, R. (2015). Quantitative text analysis and the study of EU lobbying and interest groups. European Union Politics, 16(3), 429-455.
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Chari, R., Hogan, J., Murphy, G., & Crepaz, M. (2020). Regulating lobbying: a global comparison. In Regulating lobbying (second edition). Manchester University Press.
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Coen, D. (2009). Business lobbying in the European Union, in D. Coen and J. Richardson (eds.), Lobbying the European Union: Institutions, actors and issues, pp. 145-168.
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Cowles, M.G. (2002). Large Firms and the Transformation of EU Business Associations: a Historical Perspective. In: Greenwood, J. (eds) The Effectiveness of EU Business Associations. Palgrave Macmillan, London.
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Culpepper, P. D. (2015). Structural power and political science in the post-crisis era. Business and Politics, 17(3), 391-409.
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De Bruycker, I., & Beyers, J. (2019). Lobbying strategies and success: Inside and outside lobbying in European Union legislative politics. European Political Science Review, 11(1), 57-74.
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Dinan, W. (2021). Lobbying transparency: The limits of EU monitory democracy. Politics and governance, 9(1), 237-247.
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Dür, A. (2008). Measuring interest group influence in the EU: A note on methodology. European Union Politics, 9(4), 559-576.
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Dür, A., & Mateo, G. (2024). Lobbying in the face of politicisation: Interest group strategies in trade policy. Journal of European Public Policy, 31(1), 212-238.
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Eising, R. (2007). The access of business interests to EU institutions: towards elite pluralism?. Journal of European Public Policy, 14(3), 384-403.
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Eising, R. (2017). Studying interest groups: Methodological challenges and tools. European Political Science, 16, 291-305.
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Gill, S. R., & Law, D. (1989). Global hegemony and the structural power of capital. International studies quarterly, 33(4), 475-499.
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Greenwood, J. (2017). Interest Representation in the European Union. Bloomsbury Publishing. Chapters 2 and 4.
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Helboe Pedersen, H. (2013). Is measuring interest group influence a mission impossible? The case of interest group influence in the Danish parliament. Interest Groups & Advocacy, 2, 27-47.
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Junk, W. M. (2016). Two logics of NGO advocacy: understanding inside and outside lobbying on EU environmental policies. Journal of European Public Policy, 23(2), 236-254.
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Kastner, L. (2018). Business lobbying under salience–financial industry mobilization against the European financial transaction tax. Journal of European Public Policy, 25(11), 1648-1666.
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Klüver, H. (2010). Europeanization of lobbying activities: When national interest groups spill over to the European level. European Integration, 32(2), 175-191.
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Klüver, H. (2011). The contextual nature of lobbying: Explaining lobbying success in the European Union. European Union Politics, 12(4), 483-506.
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Lindblom, C. E. (1982). The market as prison. The journal of politics, 44(2), 324-336.
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Montalbano, G. (2020). Policy entrepreneurship and the influence of the transnational financial industry in the EU reform of securitization. Business and Politics, 22(1), 85-112.
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Montalbano, G., & Flynn, L. B. (2025). Shaky foundations: structural-relational power and business influence in the EU’s regulation of real estate finance. Review of International Political Economy, 1-29.
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Weiler, F., & Brändli, M. (2015). Inside versus outside lobbying: How the institutional framework shapes the lobbying behaviour of interest groups. European Journal of Political Research, 54(4), 745-766
Teaching units
| Unit no. | Unit type | Teaching units | Teachers | Number of hours | Credits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 59211 | Cours séminaire | Business Power and Lobbying in the EU | Giuseppe MONTALBANO | 24 | 5 |
Teachers
- Giuseppe MONTALBANO
In the curricula
- Bachelor, Programme d'échange, semestre 4, seminaires - 25/26COLLÈGE UNIVERSITAIRE - CAMPUS PARIS
- Bachelor, semestre 4, 25/26 : cours séminairesCOLLÈGE UNIVERSITAIRE - CAMPUS PARIS
Contacts and resources
- Contact
- NICOULEAU Svetlana