Moments of Lobbying to My Family Örebro Studies in Media and Communication 22

Moments of lobbying To my family Örebro Studies in Media and Communication 22 CAMILLA NOTHHAFT Moments of lobbying An ethnographic study of meetings between lobbyists and politicians © Camilla Nothhaft, 2017 Title: Moments of lobbying: an ethnographic study of meetings between lobbyists and politicians Publisher: Örebro University 2017 www.oru.se/publikationer-avhandlingar Print: Örebro University, Repro jan/2017 ISSN 1651-4785 ISBN 978-91-7529-175-8 Abstract Camilla Nothhaft (2017): Moments of lobbying: an ethnographic study of meetings between lobbyists and politicians. Örebro Studies in Media and Communication 22. The aim of this study is to define and further the understanding of the practice of lobbying as it manifests in the participants’ interactions with each other and to identify its specific conditions (rules, standards, traits). A research overview shows that lobbying as a political phenomenon is well researched, but that the action per se tends to been taken for grant- ed as ‘talking’. Communication between lobbyists and politicians has predominantly been reconstructed as transmission, information- exchange. The study addresses this deficiency by applying an ethnographic method, shadowing, and by focussing on the micro-level of lobbying as a socio-political phenomenon. Lobbying is researched in moments of interaction between interest representatives and representatives of the political system, i.e. MEPs and their assistants. Seven lobbyists and politicians in Brussels have been shadowed for one week each; a further 34 interviews were conducted. The analytical strategy was to infer from the actors’ impression management (Goffman). The study is informed by a neo-institutional perspective. It assumes that cognitive, normative, and regulative structures provide meaning to social behavior, and that these resources are identifiable. Goffman’s concept of team and the distinction between frontstage and backstage emerged as central categories. My results suggest that the small world of the EU’s capital results in a sense of ‘us in Brussels’ shared by lobbyists, politicians and assistants alike. Lobbying-interaction in frontstage-mode is governed by strict conventions; ignorance or trans- gression are sanctioned as unprofessional. The key result, however, is that lobbyists actively work towards engagement on other terms. Lobby- ists employ various strategies and build relations with politicians in or- der to create moments of backstage-interaction. In backstage-mode, lobbyists not only gain access to soft information, but can negotiate ways of working together with politicians in pursuit of different, but partly overlapping agendas. Keywords: lobbying, Brussels, communication, interaction, shadowing, ethnography, strategies, organizing principles, impression management, relations. Camilla Nothhaft, Lund University, Department of Strategic Communication, Box 882, 251 08 Helsingborg, Sweden. E-mail: [email protected] Table of Contents ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...................................................................... 11 1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................... 15 1.1 A working definition of lobbying: point of departure ........................ 17 1.2 Brussels: a political arena ................................................................... 18 1.2.1 The European Union institutions and decision procedures .......... 19 1.3 The lobbyists ...................................................................................... 21 1.3.1 Wanted but unwanted - the lobbyists’ dilemma .......................... 23 1.3.2 The ambivalence viewed from a structural level .......................... 25 1.4 Previous research on lobbying ............................................................ 27 1.4.1 Three main areas of lobbying research ........................................ 28 1.4.2 Three key assumptions ................................................................ 29 1.4.3 Three insights from previous research ......................................... 33 1.4.4 Discussion: moving from transmission to communication .......... 37 1.5 Aim and research questions ................................................................ 39 2. LOBBYING AS A COMMUNICATIVE PRACTICE ........................... 41 2.1 Bringing lobbying into a neo-institutional framework ........................ 42 2.2 Connecting the macrostructures with the micro practice .................... 44 2.3 Impression management ..................................................................... 45 2.4 Interactional resources and aspects .................................................... 48 2.4.1 Face, team, façade and task........................................................ 49 2.4.2 Identity and role .......................................................................... 51 2.4.3 Framing and footing ................................................................... 54 2.5 Summary ............................................................................................ 55 3. METHOD ............................................................................................ 57 3.1 The pre-study: getting into lobbying .................................................. 57 3.2 The ethnographic research design ...................................................... 58 3.3 Entering the field: shadowing enacted ................................................ 60 3.3.1 The people observed and interviewed ......................................... 61 3.3.2 The fieldwork: observing and interviewing ................................. 65 3.3.3 Writing the notes ........................................................................ 68 3.4 Ethical concerns ................................................................................. 69 3.4.1 Ethical guidelines: informed consent ........................................... 69 3.4.2 Ethical guidelines: transparency .................................................. 70 3.4.3 Ethical guidelines: confidentiality ................................................ 71 3.5 From field notes and recordings to text .............................................. 72 3.6 Quality and critical remarks ............................................................... 74 4. THE BRUSSELS FACTOR: EVERYDAY LIFE AND WORK ............. 79 4.1 Brussels............................................................................................... 79 4.2 The European Parliament ................................................................... 81 4.3 Swedes in Brussels .............................................................................. 82 4.4 The lobbyists ...................................................................................... 84 4.4.1 Background ................................................................................. 84 4.4.2 The lobbyists’ work and networks .............................................. 85 4.5 The MEPs ........................................................................................... 85 4.5.1 The MEPs’ working space ........................................................... 86 4.5.2 The MEPs’ duties and work ........................................................ 87 4.5.3 Contacts and networks ................................................................ 89 4.6 The assistants ..................................................................................... 91 4.7 The lobbyists’ and the politicians’ shared loneliness ........................... 93 4.8 The joint work of improving positions ............................................... 95 4.9 Summary ............................................................................................ 99 5. THE ENCOUNTERS – TRAITS, NORMS AND ORGANISATION ..101 5.1 Office meetings ................................................................................. 102 5.2 Hearings and seminars ..................................................................... 107 5.3 Demonstration ................................................................................. 110 5.4 Network meeting .............................................................................. 111 5.5 Conference ....................................................................................... 112 5.6 Meetings in the corridor ................................................................... 113 5.7 Receptions and drinks ...................................................................... 114 5.8 Summary .......................................................................................... 115 6. THE IMPORTANCE OF BACKSTAGE INTERACTION ................. 119 6.1 Lobbying - a backstage activity ........................................................ 119 6.2 Finding the backstage encounter ...................................................... 120 6.3 Constructing and enhancing backstage in the encounter .................. 121 6.4 Backstage as strategy to obtain office meetings ................................ 123 6.5 ’Let’s move on over a sandwich’ ....................................................... 124 6.6 Summary and discussion .................................................................. 126 7. STRATEGIES TO DOWNPLAY THE ROLE OF THE STRAIGHTFORWARD LOBBYIST ...................................................... 127 7.1 The strategy of changing identities ................................................... 127 7.1.1 A change of the situated identity as a lobbyist ..........................

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