Definition
While it is clear that “coalition lobbying” is a frequently used influence strategy in political advocacy, the practices lying behind this term are diverse, complex, and cross-cutting. The term masks a variety of meanings, all of which highlight important collective dimensions in attempts by lobbyists to affect policy. It can refer to sets of actors with: (1) common preferences or goals, (2) coordinated activities, such as information exchange, strategy coordination, and concerted signaling of policy positions, as well as actors with (3) shared organizational structures, such as formally named coalitions or umbrella organizations.
This chapter reviews different conceptions of lobbying coalitions in inside and outside lobbying, drawing on seminal and recent research in the field. It addresses the question of which actors are potential coalition partners and/or targets of coalition action. Moreover, it summarizes accounts of why coalitions form, how they are composed and...
Keywords
- Advocacy coalitions
- Active cooperation
- Information exchange
- Strategy cooperation
- Signaling
- Umbrella organizations
- Networks
- Coalition formation
- Strange bedfellows
- Lobbying success
- Influence
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Further Reading
Heaney, M., & Leifeld, P. (2018). Contributions by interest groups to lobbying coalitions. Journal of Politics, 80(2), 494–509.
Sorurbakhsh, L. (2016). Interest group coalitions and lobbying environments: Toward a new theoretical perspective. Interest Groups & Advocacy, 5(3), 200–223.
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by Det Frie Forskningsråd: grant number Sapere Aude Grant 0602-02642B
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Junk, W.M. (2020). Lobbying Coalitions. In: The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Interest Groups, Lobbying and Public Affairs . Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-13895-0_33-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-13895-0_33-1
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