Abstract
Lobbying is a standard part of modern democracy and is here to stay. Even if there are still voices in the public discourse that consider lobbying to be detrimental to democracy, there is a widespread consensus among academicians and political practitioners that efforts to ban lobbying altogether would be futile and counterproductive.
This book argues that the key to drive away concerns about lobbying and make it fully beneficial to democracy is to set clear and predictable rules based on transparency and public accountability of those who are a part of the lobbying process. As the empirical data in this book show, it is not easy to come up with rules that are comprehensive, balanced, and resistant to circumvention and unintended interpretations, and reflect everyone’s preferences, good practices, and common standards. As some former professional lobbyists admit, not even lobbying regulations in the United States, despite their long history of development, are today effective and allow for what is basically a legal bribe (Williams, I was a lobbyist for more than 6 years. I quit. My conscience couldn’t take it anymore. Vox.com. January 5, 2018).
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Laboutková, Š., Šimral, V., Vymětal, P. (2020). Conclusion. In: Transparent Lobbying and Democracy. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-36044-3_9
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