Oxford Handbook of Lobbying and its Regulation

The volume, sophistication, and reach of lobbying make it a defining force in contemporary societies. At the same time, institutions across countries, levels of government, and international arenas have responded with rules that recognize lobbying as a legitimate means for non-state actors to wield political influence. The Oxford Handbook of Lobbying and its Regulation offers a foundation for understanding this topic at a moment when the practice and oversight of political influence are expanding worldwide. Structured around a conceptual roadmap of the 'five Ws'—who lobbies, where influence is targeted, when actors intervene in the policy cycle, and how and why political and legal systems regulate these activities—the volume takes on the challenge of untangling the complexity of interest representation. The chapters examine how lobbying has expanded across sectors, venues, and stages of decision-making, involving actors ranging from global corporations and consultancy firms to NGOs and citizen-lobbyists, and creating new opportunity structures for influence. The chapters show how regulatory frameworks shape and are shaped by these lobbying structures, highlighting significant cross-national and organizational variation as well as pointing out persistent blind spots and new challenges. Bringing together leading scholarship, this Handbook offers an authoritative and informed starting point for anyone seeking to understand and advance the study of lobbying and its regulation.

Raj Chari is Professor in Political Science at Trinity College Dublin, where he serves as Director of the Trinity Research in Social Sciences (TRiSS). He has authored 10 books, edited volumes, and special issues with leading academic presses including Oxford University Press and Manchester University Press. He has advised governments and international organizations, including the UN and Council of Europe, on lobbying regulation and sits on Ireland's Advisory Council Against Economic Crime and Corruption. Michele Crepaz is a Senior Lecturer of Politics at Queen's University Belfast. He holds the Vice Chancellor's Illuminate Fellowship and is a founding member of the Centre of Public Policy and Administration. He leads the ESRC project Resilient Civil Society on how interest groups navigate crises and build resilience. He is affiliated to The Good Lobby and serves as the Vice-President of the Political Studies Association of Ireland. Wiebke Marie Junk is an Associate Professor in Public Policy at the Department of Political Science, University of Copenhagen. She leads the ERC-funded LOBBYMETRY project on lobbying asymmetries and information provision (2025-2030) and is co-PI of the ReCiv project on civil society resilience. Emilia Korkea-aho is Professor of European Law and Legislative Studies at the University of Eastern Finland (UEF) and PI of a Kone Foundation-funded project on lobbying in Finnish municipal governance. Korkea-aho has held several expert roles on lobbying regulation in Finland and internationally. Since June 2023, she has served as Deputy Chair of the Advisory Board for the Finnish Transparency Register.