By Adriana Bunea, Steven J. Balla
Abstract:We examine lobbying in the bureaucratic arena, a venue of policymaking in which non-elected, appointed officials make decisions. Specifically, we examine lobbying in the context of public participation procedures. We call this ‘lobbying in the public’s eye’, and ask under what conditions this form of lobbying is meaningful? Building on the literature on lobbying, participatory governance, and bureaucratic responsiveness, our chapter innovates by developing the concept of ‘meaningful lobbying’ and elaborating a theoretical framework specifying the conditions under which it is more likely to occur. We argue that these conditions depend in equal measure on the logic of interest groups’ participation in public consultations and the logic of bureaucratic behavior regarding public participation procedures. Interest groups participate in consultations to satisfy several different participatory and organizational goals. In their turn, bureaucracies can choose to engage in two types of responsiveness to their lobbying efforts: procedural and substantive. Meaningful lobbying is more likely when interest groups’ incentives to participate are adequately met by what bureaucracies can offer, given their institutional constraints and organizational and/or institutional needs and motivations. We outline and discuss two optimal equilibria in which ‘procedurally meaningful lobbying’ and ‘substantively meaningful lobbying’ occur in the context of public participation procedures. As such, meaningful lobbying is relational, situational, and context-sensitive.
Published:
2026