Cartas al editor / Revisión por pares

Na realidade hodierna, faz-se necessária a análise dos grupos de interesse e, especificamente, de suas ações no âmbito político, por meio de pressão, que refletem o papel da sociedade civil organizada, através de microcosmos de atuação, na realização das aspirações populares, em seus diversos setores da vida, tratando-se de instrumentos de manifestação, canalização e consecução de aspirações coletivas. Nas sociedades complexas e heterogêneas, com a emergência de múltiplos anseios advindos da civilização industrial, por vezes conflitantes, denota-se a insuficiência do Estado em atender igualitariamente a todas as demandas, razão pela qual o cidadão não pode se limitar à figura do eleitor, com atuação periódica pelo voto, devendo assumir postura atuante no núcleo governamental. Os grupos de pressão compõem, assim, uma via da intitulada democracia participativa, com nítido papel contramajoritário, refletindo forças sociais que não encontraram respaldo na estrutura representativa clássica e contribuindo para a otimização do processo decisório institucional, ao aproximar o agente público das realidades dos titulares do poder e conferir legitimidade às medidas em cuja elaboração seus destinatários puderam intervir. A ação coletiva encontra-se alicerçada em preceitos constitucionais, como o direito de petição e as liberdades de reunião e de associação, efetivando-se um mecanismo complementar de comunicação entre representante e representado, de modo a alcançar padrões satisfatórios de governança mediante controle vertical, com responsabilidade e eficiência; atentando-se, para tanto, que as pressões grupais não podem ser exercidas através de meios ilícitos de persuasão nem devem ter como objeto pleitos manifestamente ilegais. A necessidade de se coibir as patologias da atividade denominada de lobby, imputando medidas corretivas aos seus desvios e estabelecendo os limites da sua legalidade, eis que se trata de fato relevante do qual o Direito não pode se furtar de reconhecer e normatizar, resulta no foco principal do estudo desenvolvido, pelo qual se pretendeu demarcar as questões primordiais a serem abordadas por ocasião da aprovação de uma lei de regulamentação, que, a despeito dos modelos no Direito Estrangeiro, deve encontrar solução para as particularidades pátrias. / In modern-day, it is necessary to examine interest groups and, specifically, their actions within the political sphere, through the exertion of pressure mechanisms, which reflect the role of organized civil society, across the various microcosms of action, in securing the popular aspirations of the broader population in all sectors of life by means of instruments designed to express, channel, and achieve those collective aspirations. In complex and heterogeneous societies, the States inability, due to the emergence of the multiple, often conflicting, demands of industrial civilization, to meet all of these demands on equal terms and bases is manifest, as a consequence of which citizens cannot limit themselves to the role of mere voters, participating in periodic elections, but must assume an active role at the center of government. In this light, pressure groups constitute a legitimate avenue of participatory democracy, with a distinct counter-majority role, intended to represent social forces without backing from the traditional representative structures and contribute toward the optimization of institutional decision-making by drawing public officials closer to the realities of societys true powerbrokers and conferring legitimacy on those measures which can be developed with the participation of the intended target audience. Collective action is founded on constitutional principles, such as the right to petition and the freedom of assembly and association, thus providing a complementary channel of communication between representatives and constituents, as a means to ensure satisfactory standards of governance through vertical control, accomplished in a responsible and effective manner; while underscoring, in turn, that pressure mechanisms cannot be exercised through unlawful means of persuasion or for the purpose of securing manifestly illegal claims. The need to prohibit the pathologies of lobbying activities through the imposition of corrective measures for misconduct and the establishment of legal limits is the primary focus of this study, which seeks to frame the key question to be addressed upon passage of a law regulating the related activities, one which, notwithstanding the existing models set out Foreign Laws, must offer solutions suited to the countrys national specificities.

O presente trabalho teve como objetivo principal identificar os fatores determinantes à adoção de estratégias de lobbying sobre a regulação contábil do setor petrolífero, bem como avaliar a qualidade das informações contábeis das empresas desse setor. Para atender a esse objetivo, recorreu-se a três estudos direcionados para cada um dos seguintes aspectos: determinantes do lobbying e características dos grupos de interesses (estudo 1); estágio atual da qualidade da informação contábil do setor petrolífero (estudo 2) e evidências empíricas às questões do Discussion Paper Extractive Activities (estudo 3). Para operacionalizar os estudos, utilizaram-se as cartas comentários enviadas ao IASB e a base de dados da Evaluate Energy®, empregando-se diversas técnicas econométricas como regressão linear simples e múltipla, regressão logística binomial e multinomial e regressão de Poisson a diversos planos amostrais contendo informações de empresas petrolíferas. Os resultados indicam que o grupo de interesse formado pelos preparadores de demonstrações financeiras do setor petrolífero possui incentivos econômicos para realizar lobbying sobre determinada regulamentação contábil no sentido de defender seus interesses como prega a teoria da regulação econômica, notadamente quanto ao fator tamanho. Tal grupo de interesse, dentro do plano das escolhas contábeis, é favorável à utilização do custo histórico como base de valor e da possibilidade de escolha entre dois modelos contábeis concorrentes (successful efforts e full cost) e desfavoráveis às mudanças que levem ao aumento do nível de divulgação das informações. Suportando essa posição, tem-se a visão dos usuários primários das demonstrações financeiras que sugerem que as informações contábeis disponibilizadas pelas empresas petrolíferas são de qualidade, ao menos sob o prisma da relevância e conservadorismo, e indicam, ainda, que o atual conjunto de informações baseado no custo histórico é relevante para as suas decisões econômicas. Levando-se em consideração o grande apoio recebido pela proposta de ampliação das divulgações obrigatórias, aí incluída a proposta do Publish What You Pay, tem-se a rejeição por parte dos participantes do mercado de capitais indicando que os benefícios decorrentes da ampliação da divulgação não serão maiores do que os existentes, considerando as regras atuais. Em contraponto, tem-se a concepção de que a informação contábil produzida pelas empresas petrolíferas é inoportuna. Nesse particular, não se vislumbram alterações nessa constatação uma vez que a proposta de um novo modelo contábil de reconhecimento apresentada no DPEA se aproxima do método full cost, enquanto que as evidências do segundo estudo apontam para direção contrária ao sugerir que o método successful efforts gera informações mais oportunas do que o método concorrente. Assim, tem-se um cenário para se acreditar na manutenção do status quo vigente. / This paper aimed to identify the determining factors for the adoption of lobbying strategies regarding the accounting regulation of the oil sector, as well as to assess the quality of the accounting information of the companies from this sector. To meet these goals, three studies directed to each of the underlined aspects were used: determinants of the lobbying and characteristics of the interest groups (study 1); current status of the quality of accounting information from the oil sector (study 2) and empirical evidence for the questions of Discussion Paper Extractive Activities (study 3). To operationalize the studies, letters and comments sent to the IASB and the database of Evaluate Energy® were deployed, through the use of several econometric techniques such as simple and multiple linear regressions, binomial and multinomial logistic regression and Poisson regression in various sampling plans featuring information of the oil companies. The results indicate that the interest group formed by preparers of financial statements for the oil sector has economic incentives to undertake lobbying for an accounting regulation, in the sense of defending their interests according to the economic regulation theory, notably when size is taken into account. This interest group, within the plane of accounting choices, is in favor of using the historical cost as a basis of value and of the possibility of choice between two competitor accounting models (successful efforts and full cost) and unfavorable to the changes that lead to the increase of the disclosure level of the information. Supporting this position, there is the view of the primary users of financial statements that suggests that the accounting information provided by oil companies is valuable, at least from the perspective of relevance and conservatism, and indicates, yet, that the current group of information based on the historical cost is relevant to their economic decisions. Considering the huge support received by the proposal to expand the required disclosures, therein included the proposal of Publish What You Pay, there is rejection by the participants of the capital market indicating that the benefit resulting from the expansion of the disclosure shall not be greater than those already in existence, considering the current rules. In contrast, there is the view that the accounting information produced by oil companies is untimely. In this, particularly, alterations in this finding are not envisaged once the proposal of the new accounting model of recognition presented at DPEA approaches the full cost method, whereas evidence of the second study points to the opposite direction by suggesting that the successful efforts method generates more appropriate information than does the current method. Therefore, there is scenario to believe in the maintenance of the present status quo.

Esta dissertação analisa a ação política dos grupos de interesse ao longo do processo de regulação da propaganda de alimentos desencadeado pela Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária (Anvisa) em 2005. Ao descrever as estratégias e articulações políticas dos grupos de interesse público e dos grupos de interesse empresariais, atenção especial foi dada ao lobby do empresariado, de modo a aferir se sua ação foi bem-sucedida no sentido de minimizar ou anular a polêmica e conflituosa regulação proposta por aquela agência, cujos efeitos incidiam diretamente sobre as atividades do setor privado. O estudo compreendeu um acompanhamento detalhado de cada etapa do processo decisório, buscando observar quais arenas políticas são acionadas por esses grupos para a consecução de seus objetivos. Para a condução desta pesquisa, amparamo-nos no exame exaustivo de documentos relacionados à regulação proposta, oriundos dos três Poderes bem como dos grupos de interesse, e em entrevistas aprofundadas com os principais atores políticos envolvidos com a temática. A análise evidenciou que os grupos de interesse da sociedade civil e do empresariado possuem diferentes estratégias de ação, as quais refletem seus distintos recursos e acesso desigual aos principais canais de poder político. Da mesma forma, pudemos observar que, a despeito do poder econômico incontrastável dos dois setores afetados, indústria de alimento e de publicidade, sua ação política não foi capaz de impedir a Anvisa de prosseguir com o regulamento proposto, o que nos sugere importante autonomia política da agência. Não obstante, encontramos evidências de que a pressão do empresariado foi capaz de mitigar em grande medida a regulação da Anvisa, pois a norma foi alterada consideravelmente entre a consulta pública de 2006 e sua promulgação em 2010. Além disso, alterações organizacionais e no comando da Anvisa em 2012, alinhadas aos interesses dos grupos empresariais, dão conta de mudanças mais profundas na agência, as quais parecem ter redefinido as próprias bases do relacionamento com o empresariado. Sob essa ótica, o lobby do empresariado, embora não totalmente bem-sucedido na regulação aqui estudada, teria sido eficaz na reestruturação das relações com a Anvisa de agora em diante. / This dissertation analyzes the political action of interest groups throughout the process of food propaganda regulation triggered by the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) in 2005. By describing the strategies and political articulations of the public interest groups and the business interest groups, special attention has been given to the business lobbying, in order to assess whether its action has been successful in minimizing or overturning the controversial and conflicting regulation proposed by the agency, which effects would affect directly private sector activities. The study enclosed a detailed follow-up of each stage of the decision-making process, seeking to observe which political arenas are activated by these groups in order to accomplish its goals. For the conduction of this research, we have done a comprehensive examination of the documents related to the proposed regulation, which were produced by the three branches of government and the interest groups, and in-depth interviews with the main political players involved in this issue. The analysis made clear that civil society and business groups have different action strategies, which reflect their distinct resources and unequal access to the main political power channels. Likewise, we were able to observe that, despite the irresistible economic power of the two affected sectors, food and advertising industry, its political action was not able to prevent Anvisa from carrying on the proposed regulation, which shows us the important political autonomy of the agency. Nevertheless, we found evidences that the pressure exerted by business groups was able to mitigate, to a large extent, Anvisas regulation, as the rule was considerably altered from the public comment period in 2006 until its promulgation in 2010. Besides, alterations in the structure and in the command of Anvisa in 2012, which are aligned with business interests, indicate deeper changes in the agency, which seem to have redefined the very bases of the relationship with businessmen. Under this point of view, business lobbying, although not entirely successful in the regulation herein studied, would have been effective in restructuring the relations with Anvisa from now on.

In political philosophy, power and responsibility are known to be two sides of the same coin. Yet surprisingly, corporate political power has not been strongly featured in the long-standing debate surrounding Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), despite the parallel debate on the influence of business in policy-making. The political dimension of CSR and its intrinsic relationship with Corporate Political Power (CPP) has been under-researched. This thesis adds to the CSR debate by investigating the processes and mechanisms by which CSR activities contribute to the power of the firm in the political arena, in the context of the British construction industry. Drawing on the literature on power, political activity and extended corporate citizenship, a conceptual model of the relationship between CSR and CPP was developed. The model was underpinned by insights from the Institutional Theory, the Resource Dependence Theory, and the Resource-Based View of the firm. Using a hybrid constructivist-realism epistemology and a processbased analysis, three exploratory case studies were carried out in construction companies operating in the UK. Data were collected through archival research and semi-structured interviews, and analysed by means of within and cross-case analyses. The results revealed that the political environment of the firm was analogous to a marketplace where companies traded political goods with policy-makers. CSR activities produced four political goods, namely public image, technical expertise, social capital and indebtedness, which were identified as the mechanisms by which CSR contributed to CPP. The impacts of CSR activities on CPP were three-fold: CSR strengthened the privileged structural position of companies; helped them gain easier access to policy-makers; and this privileged access gave companies more opportunities to influence regulatory outcomes. The key theoretical contribution of the thesis is a processual model that illustrates how CSR contributes to CPP. There are also implications for practice. CSR activities are velvet curtains that hide the operationalisation of political power. The social and political implications call for the attention of government officials who favour a neoliberal doctrine for the promotion of CSR to business.

Denna studie syftade till att belysa begreppet lobbyism och synliggöra de skillnader som finns kring fenomenet i olika länder. Länderna som diskuterades var USA och Sverige, där studien tog utgångspunkten att lobbyverksamheten i USA var betydligt mer utbredd än i Sverige.  Då studien var en syntes, en komparativ studie av tidigare studier och statistik, gick det inte att dra några direkta slutsatser, utan det som studien kom fram till diskuterades fram och tillbaka, bland annat hur lobbyverksamheten rent statistiskt var större i USA, men förvånandevis var den större i Sverige per capita.  Det sekundära syftet var att anskaffa och applicera denna typ av kunskap i läraryrket, och specifikt inom samhällskunskapen – och utforma en uppgift till elever på gymnasiet, något som kunde göras och framställas i senare kapitel

This thesis demonstrates that, while generally seen as a non-democratic activity, lobbying should in fact be viewed as an important part of democratic policymaking, providing valuable input into law and policy, particularly in areas where expertise is at a premium. Constructing a theoretical model of democracy and using the field of intellectual property as a focal point, the role of private actors is examined across a series of case studies: the 2011 Hargreaves Review of Intellectual Property and Growth, the 2010 Digital Economy Act, and the proposed 2002 EU Computer Implemented Inventions Directive. Each case study is based upon a combination of secondary sources and the first-hand experiences of certain actors involved and in each case the lobbying activity is critically evaluated in light of the features and normative conditions of the democratic model. This study ultimately shows both the positive aspects and negative aspects of lobbying from a democratic viewpoint, noting that the importance of stakeholder input into the law and policy that will affect those stakeholders is essential. It also shows, however, that equality of access to, and influence over, policymakers is far from satisfactory and that until such inequalities can be resolved, lobbying cannot be fully justified under my model of democracy.

Práce se věnuje analýze a souvislostem důchodového systému České republiky. Důraz je kladen na demografickou analýzu, která uvozuje čtenáře do celé problematiky. Vyvrací mnoho pesimistických scénářů o budoucím vývoji ekonomické struktury obyvatel a upozorňuje na hlavní nedostatky při dlouhodobých (50ti a víceletých) predikcích budoucího demografického i ekonomického vývoje. Na základě analýzy a predikce průběžného důchodového systému je explicitně ukázáno, že jej lze konformně ?reformovat? a zachovat jej jako základní pilíř českého důchodového systému.

Na realidade hodierna, faz-se necessária a análise dos grupos de interesse e, especificamente, de suas ações no âmbito político, por meio de pressão, que refletem o papel da sociedade civil organizada, através de microcosmos de atuação, na realização das aspirações populares, em seus diversos setores da vida, tratando-se de instrumentos de manifestação, canalização e consecução de aspirações coletivas. Nas sociedades complexas e heterogêneas, com a emergência de múltiplos anseios advindos da civilização industrial, por vezes conflitantes, denota-se a insuficiência do Estado em atender igualitariamente a todas as demandas, razão pela qual o cidadão não pode se limitar à figura do eleitor, com atuação periódica pelo voto, devendo assumir postura atuante no núcleo governamental. Os grupos de pressão compõem, assim, uma via da intitulada democracia participativa, com nítido papel contramajoritário, refletindo forças sociais que não encontraram respaldo na estrutura representativa clássica e contribuindo para a otimização do processo decisório institucional, ao aproximar o agente público das realidades dos titulares do poder e conferir legitimidade às medidas em cuja elaboração seus destinatários puderam intervir. A ação coletiva encontra-se alicerçada em preceitos constitucionais, como o direito de petição e as liberdades de reunião e de associação, efetivando-se um mecanismo complementar de comunicação entre representante e representado, de modo a alcançar padrões satisfatórios de governança mediante controle vertical, com responsabilidade e eficiência; atentando-se, para tanto, que as pressões grupais não podem ser exercidas através de meios ilícitos de persuasão nem devem ter como objeto pleitos manifestamente ilegais. A necessidade de se coibir as patologias da atividade denominada de lobby, imputando medidas corretivas aos seus desvios e estabelecendo os limites da sua legalidade, eis que se trata de fato relevante do qual o Direito não pode se furtar de reconhecer e normatizar, resulta no foco principal do estudo desenvolvido, pelo qual se pretendeu demarcar as questões primordiais a serem abordadas por ocasião da aprovação de uma lei de regulamentação, que, a despeito dos modelos no Direito Estrangeiro, deve encontrar solução para as particularidades pátrias. / In modern-day, it is necessary to examine interest groups and, specifically, their actions within the political sphere, through the exertion of pressure mechanisms, which reflect the role of organized civil society, across the various microcosms of action, in securing the popular aspirations of the broader population in all sectors of life by means of instruments designed to express, channel, and achieve those collective aspirations. In complex and heterogeneous societies, the States inability, due to the emergence of the multiple, often conflicting, demands of industrial civilization, to meet all of these demands on equal terms and bases is manifest, as a consequence of which citizens cannot limit themselves to the role of mere voters, participating in periodic elections, but must assume an active role at the center of government. In this light, pressure groups constitute a legitimate avenue of participatory democracy, with a distinct counter-majority role, intended to represent social forces without backing from the traditional representative structures and contribute toward the optimization of institutional decision-making by drawing public officials closer to the realities of societys true powerbrokers and conferring legitimacy on those measures which can be developed with the participation of the intended target audience. Collective action is founded on constitutional principles, such as the right to petition and the freedom of assembly and association, thus providing a complementary channel of communication between representatives and constituents, as a means to ensure satisfactory standards of governance through vertical control, accomplished in a responsible and effective manner; while underscoring, in turn, that pressure mechanisms cannot be exercised through unlawful means of persuasion or for the purpose of securing manifestly illegal claims. The need to prohibit the pathologies of lobbying activities through the imposition of corrective measures for misconduct and the establishment of legal limits is the primary focus of this study, which seeks to frame the key question to be addressed upon passage of a law regulating the related activities, one which, notwithstanding the existing models set out Foreign Laws, must offer solutions suited to the countrys national specificities.

This thesis demonstrates that the discursive strategies that characterise the political struggle of the Zapatista (EZLN) movement are produced in response to the political and economic realities of Mexico and the southeastern state of Chiapas. The EZLN�s intentionally ambiguous discourse of dignity epitomises these strategies. By deploying various incarnations of dignity to counter the Mexican Government�s strategic political manoeuvres, the EZLN destabilises the political, economic and social hegemonies of the nation. This destabilisation creates a space for the EZLN to suggest the possibility of an alternative political logic to the Mexican populace. However, the marginalised social location and ethnic diversity of the movement�s indigenous constituents impedes their ability to effect significant political change. This impediment is overcome when they coalesce around the politically advantageous subjectivity of indigenous Zapatistas and engage with the mestizo Subcomandante Marcos to produce the EZLN. The movement enacts a progressive coalitional politics that articulates radical political alternatives for Mexico through the strategic practice of translation. Thus, translation is posited as a powerful political practice for marginalised groups engaged in resistance struggles in the contemporary global conditions.