Lobbyism is what?
The concept of "lobbying" was first born in Britainin the middle of the XIX century. In its original interpretation, lobbyism is the pressure on decision makers to provide the necessary solutions. A clear example is the direct or indirect pressure on MPs during their
Today, lobbying is somewhat more extensivephenomenon. It covers not only the sphere of interests of business, but also social organizations, science, education, art, ideological trends and so on. Political lobbyism of large industrialists of the century before last had a pronounced negative and even illegal character. Today, this activity is fully included in the daily life of the democratic states of the planet. In the modern world of political PR, lobbying is also a professional activity. Moreover, in a number of specialties of world and Russian universities, a corresponding discipline has appeared recently. And in the US, as noted by statistics, there are more than 12,000 official lobbyists.
There are two types of such actions: direct and indirect. The first include direct meetings and discussions with members of the legislative assembly; carrying out of presentations and agitation in their environment; assistance in preparation of draft laws; professional advice; rendering various services to deputies and political parties; direct deposit of money into their account, for example, for the conduct of election companies. Indirect lobbying is a mediated activity through which pressure is put on parliamentarians. As its examples, we can name the following:
1. The influence of public opinion. In this case, certain moods are provoked in the society itself (usually through the media), and then it becomes an instrument of pressure on legislators.
2. Social survey. Such surveys often have pre-planned results. This may be due to the choice of a certain social group, the region, provoking the formulation of the question, and so on. Published later results of such surveys also become a lever of influence.
3. Attraction of voters. This is the case when lobbyists directly appeal to citizens and agitate those who turn to deputies: writing a letter, making a phone call. A large-scale option may be the convocation of a rally for the adoption of certain bills.
4. Situational associations. In some cases, lobbyists can be united under separate laws that are beneficial to participants in such an association. Even if their other interests do not coincide. Deputies are more inclined to meet with representatives of such groups, as this eliminates the need to listen to the demands of different groups duplicating each other. Accordingly, saves energy and time.
