Lobbying, The Lobbyist And Public Relations

Lobbying is a communication function, and closely resembles with public relations. Lobbying is said to date back to 1215 when King John of England allowed people to petition him on any violation of rights. Lobbying is one of the oldest professions and has always been part of every political and legislative system.  Therefore, lobbying has also been defined as “the deliberate attempt to influence political decisions through various forms of advocacy directed at policymakers on behalf of another person, organization, or group.

Although, lobbying has been defined in many ways but, in essence, it is the right of any citizen or interest group to petition the govt.(s) on proposed legislation, to provide  well documented information designed to influence the legislative, and to allow the voice of interested or  affected publics  e.g. NGO’s, citizen groups, worker unions etc. to be heard in the political arena either for passage or defeat of legislation. Lobbyists break down complicated issues and present the most pertinent information to legislators, and or legislative committees, duly backed with extensive research and evidence that usually accompanies proposed legislation. Political scientists have long recognized the legitimate uses of lobbying where democratically elected governments are in place.

In 1960, Lester Milbrath, the so-called “father of lobbying research,” first analyzed lobbying from a communication perspective. Milbrath claims that, “Communication is the only means of influencing or changing a perception; the lobbying process, therefore, is totally a communication process”. Toth (1986) recognizes it as a specialized area of public relations; Heath and Cousino (1990) describe it as a function of issues management; Mayhew (1997) describes lobbying as “a process of influence that travels along routes sustained by exchanges of information” in which “both parties have an opportunity to make their message influential as well as informative”. Guth and Marsh (2000) suggest that lobbyists pass on persuasive information to government officials; and Cutlip, Center, and Broom (2000) define it as a function of public affairs that builds and maintains relations with government primarily for the propose of influencing legislation and regulation. Koeppl (2000) defines lobbying as “the attempted or successful influence of legislative-administrative decisions by public authorities through interested representatives.  The influence is intended, implies the use of communication and is targeted on legislative and executive bodies”. Dondero and Lunch (2005) wrote, “Lobbying is a two-way communication process”. They describe lobbyists as great communicators to legislators because they serve as liaisons between constituents and legislators. 

Although it has always been a communication process, according to Dondero and Lunch, lobbyists perform three primary functions in the legislative arena:-

1) Disseminate information needed for crafting legislation to legislators and their staff,

2) Aggregate public opinion around major issues affecting their clients, and

3) Help set the political agenda by creating coalitions to support or oppose specific bills.

As players in the political arena, lobbyists represent, educate, and advocate on behalf of their clients’ interests.  Therefore, lobbyists develop various methods, strategies, and tactics to gain access, inform, influence, and pressurize the policymakers who make policy decisions that affect the well being of their clients, the local, national, and international communities, and present and future generations of citizens. Today, lobbying efforts have become highly sophisticated and multidimensional, relying on a complex array of persuasive devices with inputs from citizen’s groups such as non-governmental organizations (NGOs), think tanks, consumer interest societies and industry chambers and associations.

Lobbying is also a major component of government relations functions of the typical large corporations. In Govt. Relations and corporate affairs activities Public Relations and Liaison services also play major roles but LOBBYING has a strictly different meaning. The essence of lobbying is that it has to be discreet and low profile and is one of the chosen methods to influence legislative and decision-making processes in favour of the company’s own interests. The target groups for corporate lobbying are therefore influential politicians, bureaucrats, legislators and other power centers.

A lobbyist, therefore, has to be a person of extra-ordinary caliber and high connections. Lobbyists have to play undercover, in total secrecy. The crucial decision to go for lobbying and its stages of influence are exclusive information. Lobbying can be very helpful in explaining potential consequences of any legislative or bureaucratic function to a legislator or the government.  Lobbyist can play an important role by suggesting an alternative constructive proposal designed to achieve a purpose which is considered to be in the interest of public at large. In our country lobbying is done by civil societies or organizations representing business organizations e.g. FICCI, CII, ASSOCHAM, PHDCCI etc.

In a nutshell, lobbyists are the eyes and ears of the public, information providers, representatives of their clients and constituents, shapers of the government agenda, movers of legislation, coalition builders, and campaign contributors.

Thank you J