L’objectif de ce mémoire est double. D’une part, il vise à proposer un cadre d’analyse novateur permettant d’étendre le modèle du marketing politique, traditionnellement limité au cas des partis politiques, en l’appliquant aux stratégies de recrutement (en amont) et de lobbying (en aval) des groupes d’intérêt. D’autre part, il a pour but de donner un nouveau souffle à l’étude des groupes d’intérêt en tant que sous-champ de la science politique en situant leur action dans une perspective dynamique et stratégique. De façon plus spécifique, cette recherche vise à évaluer, à l’aide de deux hypothèses, le degré de déploiement global de l’approche marketing chez les groupes d’intérêt au Québec et à comparer son niveau de pénétration spécifique au sein des différentes organisations. La première hypothèse avance que le degré de déploiement global du marketing politique auprès des groupes d’intérêt québécois s’avère relativement faible en raison d’un certain nombre de facteurs contextuels qui ont historiquement limité son intégration au sein de leurs stratégies de recrutement et de lobbying. La seconde hypothèse affirme pour sa part que le niveau de pénétration spécifique de l’approche marketing est limité à certaines organisations et varie en fonction de certains facteurs qui peuvent s’avérer contradictoires. Les données recueillies lors d’entrevues menées auprès de douze des principaux groupes d’intérêt actifs à l’échelle du Québec tendent à confirmer les deux hypothèses. / The goal of this paper is twofold. On the one hand, it aims to offer an innovative analytical framework for extending the model of political marketing, traditionally limited to the case of political parties, by applying it to the recruitment (upstream) ad lobbying (downstream) strategies of interest groups. On the other hand, it aims to give new impetus to the study of interest groups as a subfield of political science by placing their actions in a dynamic and strategic perspective. In more specific terms, this research aims to assess, with two hypotheses, the overall level of deployment of the marketing approach among interest groups in Quebec and compare its specific level of penetration within the various organizations. The first hypothesis argues that the degree of penetration of global marketing policy with interest groups in Quebec is relatively low due to a number of contextual factors that have historically limited its integration within their recruitment strategies and lobbying. The second hypothesis assumes for his part that the level of deployment of specific marketing approach is limited to certain organizations and varies depending on certain factors which may be contradictory. The data gathered during interviews with twelve key interest groups active throughout the Quebec tend to confirm the two hypotheses. / Fonds québécois de recherche sur la société et la culture

The aim of this thesis is to study the role and the influence of the Swedish local government association, SALAR, which is an interest group representing all of the Swedish local authorities and regions. As a result of a change in exercising public power from government to multi-level governance that has reinforced subnational level, including local authorities and regions, SALAR is today a significant actor. It has an intermediating role in the relation between the government and local and regional authorities. SALAR is a hybrid organization that has interest group and governmental characteristics. It is a player competing with other interest groups in a pluralistic system but it is also a corporatist negotiation partner of the government that has a privileged access to central government decision-making. This study uses a comparative case study method analyzing two policy processes to study and describe what kind of role and influence SALAR has in these processes and how the role and the influence of SALAR can be understood from an interest group perspective and a multi-level governance perspective. The described and analyzed policy processes are Kömiljarden, an effectivity effort in Swedish public health care system, and the introduction of the teacher license system in Swedish schools. The empirical material used in this thesis consists of official publications published by public authorities, the parliament and the government as well as interviews with officials representing public authorities, the government and SALAR. The results presented in this thesis show that SALAR in line with previous research on local government associations in other countries, has a role as an intermediator with a privileged access to central government and central decision-making. It is a partner that central government negotiates with and which has the task of informing about the local and regional circumstances. Its influence can also be analyzed in connection to these negotiations. SALAR is in many ways stuck in the structure of decision-making, which is operated by central government while still being in competition with interest groups, such as the teacher unions.

Esta pesquisa analisa a atuação dos grupos de interesses do setor privado na política de internet no Brasil, concentrando-se na definição do princípio da neutralidade de rede no âmbito do Marco Civil da Internet. A influência dos grupos de interesses e o seu papel como fornecedores de informação aos tomadores de decisão foi constatada a partir do levantamento de documentos oficiais, contribuições a consultas e audiências públicas e artigos jornalísticos. Em seguida, os dados levantados foram analisados sob três abordagens teóricas: os tipos de políticas públicas de Lowi, a ciência política com foco na política (policy-focused) de Hacker e Pierson, e o equilíbrio interrompido de True e Baumgatner. A pesquisa identificou que os grupos de interesses traçaram as suas estratégias em função das características da política, formaram coalizões baseadas em interesses compartilhados e construíram três imagens principais para o assunto da neutralidade de rede a fim de destacar o seu posicionamento e captar a atenção de formuladores de política, tomadores de decisão e da opinião pública, são elas: a liberdade de expressão, competição e a legalidade. Os três principais grupos de interesses do setor privado que disputaram a definição do Marco Civil da Internet foram o setor de conteúdo, o setor de internet e o setor de telecomunicações. Em conclusão, a pesquisa identificou a redução gradativa do escopo da política para acomodar interesses conflitantes em um mínimo final. / This research aims to analyze private sector interest groups influence on internet policy in Brazil, particularly on the definition of network neutrality in the Internet Framework Law (Marco Civil da Internet). Interest groups influence and their role as information subsidizers was examined through the study of official documents, contributions to public consultations and public hearings and media articles. Following data collection, a descriptive analysis of the results was undertaken based on three main theoretical approaches: Theodore Lowi\'s public policy typology, Hacker and Pierson\'s policy-focused social science and True and Baumgartner\'s punctuated equilibrium. The research identified that interests groups traced their strategies according to the policy in dispute, built coalitions based on shared (but mutable) interests, and developed three main images to emphasize their position and engage policymakers, decisionmakers and public opinion: network neutrality as freedom of speech, as competition and as legality. Three main private sector interest groups were identified during the dispute: the content industry, the internet industry and the telecommunications industry. In conclusion, this research observed that group dispute gradually reduced policy scope to accommodate conflicting interests in one final policy.

O escopo desta pesquisa é examinar a relação entre grupos de interesse e o Poder Legislativo em política comercial exterior, desafiando a percepção de que tal instância tenha um papel insignificante no policy-making da política externa brasileira e, portanto, não se configure como âmbito de interesses do empresariado. Mesmo admitindo que a atividade constitucional do Congresso se restrinja à ratificação, existe uma série de fatores que fornecem incentivos para sua utilização como alvo alternativo de pressões do empresariado: intensificação dos custos das negociações para o setor privado, divergência destes grupos com o Executivo, insulamento do Executivo na condução da política externa, ampliação da participação do Brasil em diversos foros negociais, melhor organização do próprio setor privado nacional, entre outros. Para averiguar tal hipótese, além do embasamento teórico, foi empreendida uma análise empírica do período de 1998 a 2008 em política comercial, objetivando um levantamento das matérias concernente, e posterior análise dos movimentos do empresariado em relação a estas peças legislativas. Com essas informações, foi possível realizar uma análise qualitativa dos dados e obter um panorama da relação do Poder Legislativo com grupos de interesse nesta temática. / The scope of this research is to examine the relationship between interest groups and the legislative branch in foreign trade policy, challenging the perception that this body has a minor role in policy-making of Brazilian foreign policy and therefore not set up as scope of business interests. Even assuming that Congresss constitutional activity is confined to the ratification, there are a number of factors that provide incentives for its use as an alternative target to business pressures: increased costs of negotiations for the private sector, their disagreement with the Executive, isolation in the Executive\'s conduct of foreign policy, expansion of Brazil\'s participation in various negotiating fora, better organization of the domestic private sector, among others. To investigate this hypothesis, beyond the theoretical framework, it was undertaken an empirical analysis of the period from 1998 to 2008 on trade policy, aiming at a survey of issues concerning, and further analysis of the movements of the business community in relation to these pieces of legislation. With this information, it was possible to perform a qualitative analysis of the data and get an overview of the relationship of the legislature with interest groups on this topic.

Essa dissertação testa a hipótese de que a ação política empresarial organizada faz diferença nas decisões governamentais e, portanto, que grupos de interesse empresariais seriam relevantes para o sucesso político alcançado por setores econômicos no contexto estudado. A análise avalia deliberações decorrentes do Plano Brasil Maior que afetaram 19 setores organizados entre 2011 e 2014. Dez setores são selecionados para a amostra, contrapondo-se os mais bem sucedidos e os menos bem sucedidos, sendo o sucesso a variável dependente. Como variáveis independentes, elencou-se uma série de possíveis causas que podem ter levado ao resultado de sucesso, sendo metade delas relacionadas a aspectos estruturais dos setores (geração de empregos, faturamento, balança comercial e tipo de setor), e a outra metade relacionada à atividade de lobbying (número de associações representativas do setor, estrutura das associações, número de reuniões realizadas com o governo, ação política através da associação). A análise é realizada através da metodologia de Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA), que aponta as variáveis determinantes para o sucesso dos grupos no período mencionado. Os resultados da pesquisa condizem com a hipótese levantada e com parte da literatura sobre grupos de interesse, ao constatar que as variáveis estrutura das associações e ação política através da associação são necessárias para o resultado. Isso quer dizer que variáveis ligadas ao lobbying são essenciais para o sucesso do setor, e que a atividade de ação política empresarial faz diferença. / The dissertation tests the hypothesis that the business political action makes a difference in government decisions - and therefore that the business interest groups would be relevant for the political success achieved by the economic sectors in the context. The analysis assesses deliberations arising from the Plano Brasil Maior that affected 19 organized sectors between 2011 and 2014. 10 sectors are selected for the sample, oposing \"most successful\" and \"less successful\" sectors, as \"success\" is the dependent variable. As independent variables, we list a few possible causes that may have led to the successful outcome, half of which are related to structural aspects of the sectors (job generation, income, trade balance and industry type), and the other half is related to the lobbying activity (number of associations representing the sector, the structure of associations, number of meetings with the government, political action through the association). The analysis uses the Qualitative Comparative Analysis method (QCA), which points out variables which were crucial to the groups success in the mentioned period. The results are consistent with the hypothesis and with the interest groups literature, since variables \"structure of associations\" and \"political through the association\" are necessary for the result. This means that variables related to lobbying are essential to the group success, and that business political action activity makes a difference.

This thesis examines the possibility of enforcing a toll in Prague's central region, which has long been struggling with congestion. The central objective was to determine how interest groups affect the problem of introducing tolls in the area of Prague. Interest groups underwent an analysis at whose beginning they were identified and searched out. A determination of its benefits and costs followed to rovide a more detailed assessment establishing the motivation and the influence that various interest groups may have. In this thesis, a relatively strong interest group from the corporate sector was identified, which would be significantly affected by the toll -- the providers of courier services. Experts anticipate an assumption of negative attitudes by this group to the introduction of tolls, which is also confirmed in the/an interview with the stakeholders.

The Pension system in the Czech Republic seems to be financialy unsustainable because of demographic development and economic consequences which is why it requires detailed systemathic change. This thesis will, in theory, describe and analyze reform possibilities which are derived primarily from conclusions of the Bezděk comission. At the same time it will also focus on alternatives which are presented by political parties or which are known from experiences from abroad. This thesis will also mention particular social groups which the pension system is related to, as well as pension funds and the state. The goal is to present comprehensive overview on the pension system issues and also show possible solutions.

Si l'idée de l'Etat fragmentaire, voire de la désintégration de la place de l'Etat au centre de la décision publique, s'est développée récemment dans les Etats modernes suite à la mondialisation, la particularité du Liban indépendant est qu'il a été créé en 1943 comme Etat segmentaire. Subséquemment, la problématique de la décision économique publique au Liban, notamment la place de l'Etat en son centre s'est imposée depuis l'indépendance avec une grande ampleur, précisément avec le choix du confessionnalisme politique (1943) et, plus tard (1948), du libéralisme économique comme systèmes de gouvernance politique et économique pour le jeune Etat. Cette thèse s'efforce d'analyser la formulation des politiques économiques dans le pays depuis 1943 jusqu’à fin 2016, par le truchement de l'approche des réseaux d'action publique. Le réseau de la décision économique publique dans le pays tel que constitué depuis l'indépendance et qui a subi peu de transformations, sera ainsi le facteur d'influence le plus adéquat pour expliquer le choix des politiques économiques au Liban, par conséquent comprendre et analyser le contenu de ces politiques. En identifiant les acteurs du réseau de la décision économique dans le pays, leurs caractéristiques, leurs rapports de force, stratégies d'action et interactions avec le contexte exogène socio-politico-économique, nous avons essayé de comprendre pourquoi les politiques économiques au Liban répondent-elles davantage à des intérêts catégoriels qu'à l'intérêt général. Les politiques fiscale et de change dans le pays seraient dès lors interprétées et analysées comme extrants naturels du réseau de la décision économique publique au Liban. Un réseau qui s'approche du model du réseau clientéliste d'action publique avec des particularités retenues pour le cas libanais. / If the idea of fragmentary state, or even of the disintegration of the state's place at the center of public decision-making, has developed recently in modern states following globalization, the particularity of independent Lebanon is that it was created in 1943 as a segmental state. Subsequently, the problem of public economic decision-making in Lebanon, especially the state's place at its center, has been imposed since independence with great amplitude, precisely with the choice of political confessionalism (1943) and later on economic liberalism (1948), as political and economic governance systems for the young state. This thesis attempts to analyze the formulation of economic policies in the country since 1943, until the end of 2016, by adopting the policy network approach. The public economic decision-making network in the country as constituted since independence, and which underwent little transformations, will thus be the most suitable factor of influence to explain the choice of economic policies in Lebanon, therefore to understand and analyze these policies content. By identifying the actors of the economic decision-making network in the country, their characteristics, their balance of power, strategies and interactions with the exogenous socio-politico-economic context, we have tried to understand why economic policies in Lebanon respond more to categorical interests than to the general interest. Tax and exchange rate policies in the country would therefore be interpreted and analyzed as natural outputs of the public economic decision-making network in Lebanon. A network that approaches the clientelist model of public policy network with particularities retained for the Lebanese case.

Cette thèse présente une contribution théorique et empirique à la recherche sur la représentation politique des groupes d’intérêt. Plus précisément, son objectif est de développer une analyse de la question la plus importante dans ce domaine, notamment celle de l’influence de groupes d’intérêt sur les politiques de la Commission Européenne. La nature multiforme de l’influence a été présentée dans le premier chapitre, avec un appui sur le rôle des fonctionnaires publics, le contexte politique et les caractéristiques des groupes d’intérêt. Le succès du lobbying a été comparé à travers de différents DGs de la Commission mais aussi à travers des différents contextes politiques avec des différents degrés de saillance et conflit. Les résultats de recherche confirment le rôle primordial des fonctionnaires publics dans les changements des politiques publiques au niveau de la Commission Européenne. Les recherches sur l’influence des groupes d’intérêt doivent prendre en compte le chevauchement de préférences exprimées par les décideurs politiques et les groupes d’intérêt pour mieux comprendre le succès de leur lobbying. En plus, les groups de business ont plus d’influence politique auprès des fonctionnaires qui travaillent dans les directions qui s’appuient sur les politiques économiques. Les résultats soulignent aussi l’importance des variables institutionnelles qui définissent le contexte dans lequel l’influence est exercée. Autrement dit, si certains groupes d’intérêt sont influents dépend du cadre institutionnel, et plus généralement du contexte politique dans lequel l’influence est utilisé. / This study is an account of interest group representation and lobbying success in the European Union. The questions I address are when and why interest groups succeed (or fail) to obtain their preferred policy outcome in the European Commission decision-making process. Lobbying success cannot be exclusively perceived as a function of the political resource exchanges between interest group coalitions and EU institutions. Instead, I argue that policy influence is a complex process that is under the control of policymakers. While multiple actors can effectively influence policy, public officials have a central-veto player-role in the process. They can also accommodate or reject interest group demands for other reasons than information exchange, such as their own ideological preferences, institutional embeddedness or the policy context. I argue that lobbying success can be better explained by a convergence between policymaker preferences, interest group preferences, and the policy context in which their preferences emerge. Thus, I focus on the role of policymakers as the predominant actors with formal agency capacities to change policy. Interest group scholars rely on methodological diversity, combining process tracing and survey designs, to establish the policy preferences of relevant political actors. By using such an approach, the results presented here paint a more refined picture of lobbying success, which depends much more on policymaker preferences than previous studies have considered. This conclusion should encourage scholars in the field to pay more attention to strong and weak ties within policy elite networks in an effort to better understand lobbying success.

This thesis examines the political representation of Australian farmers. The NFF family of interest groups is charged with the political representation of farmers in Australia.Given that their state affiliates are the only organisations that farmers can directly join, this study takes the case of the New South Wales Farmers' Association (NSWFA) as its major reference point. A paradox is immediately confronted. On one hand, both the state and commentators refer to the NFF family as an exemplar of a successful modern interest group. However, on the other, the NFF family is being confronted with escalating levels of disillusionment and criticism from its own constituency.Two points of interest are highlighted. Firstly, it is suggested that theoretical frameworks, which assist commentators and researchers to come to the conclusion that the NFF family is 'successful', are not constructed in such a fashion as to throw sufficient light on the paradoxical nature of an existing situation. Secondly, this paradox suggests that the NFF itself must be able to disassociate the contingent relationship between its internal levels of support and external levels of access and influence. These two focal points are explored in this thesis, and the framework used by researchers to understand the actions of Australian farm interest groups are scrutinised. Discussing 'authentic' political representation assists considering the major theme of the 'representative paradox'. It is argued that this paradox is best understood by locating it within a search by farmers for authentic political representation - both through the NFF family and apart from it. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)