A representative in Brussels: Individuals and interest representation in the European Union

Defacqz, Samuel;Koutroubas, Theodoros
(2016) 4th Mid-Term Conference of the Political Sociology Research Network of the European Sociological Association – (Dis)locating EUrope: Conflicts, challenges and changes — Location: Brussels (28.October.2016)

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Abstract
Literature on interest groups usually analyzes European interest groups' politics focusing mostly on the strategies used by the groups in question in order to influence decision-making both at the EU and at the Member States level. In this paper we would like to propose a new research agenda regarding EU interest groups, focusing this time on decision-making strategies in the interior of these groups when it comes to internal governance and adoption of positions. In that context we would like to put emphasis on the role of individual delegates of members' of "umbrella" type interest groups in the politics of the latter, thus opening a path towards individual-centered analysis of lobbying activities in Brussels. We feel in fact that at each stage of the representation process, from grassroots members and volunteers to professional lobbyist working in Brussels, the individual dimensions of lobbying matter. A focus on this micro-level has the ambition to shed a new light on the existing findings on organized interests’ representation at the EU level. Interest representation should no more be defined only as aiming at exercising influence but also as a process of various levels of interactions amongst individuals. This paper proposes an original research agenda for a comprehensive understanding of the full dimensions of the role of individuals within European interest groups. This proposal follows the observations of European professional associations to which the authors are enjoying a privileged access.
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Defacqz, S., & Koutroubas, T. (2016). A representative in Brussels: Individuals and interest representation in the European Union. 4th Mid-Term Conference of the Political Sociology Research Network of the European Sociological Association – (Dis)locating EUrope: Conflicts, challenges and changes, Brussels. https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/179278