Regulating lobbying: a global comparison

Contents:

1. Outlining central questions and method of analysis

2. Political systems with regulations in place in the 1900s: the US, Canada, the EU and Germany

3. Political systems with regulations in place in the 2000s: Lithuania, Poland, Hungary, Taiwan and Australia

4. Analysis of a quantitative index and classifying regulatory regimes

5. Examining findings from surveys and elite interviews in the four political systems with the longest history of lobbying regulation

6. Examining the opinions of actors in unregulated jurisdictions

7. Conclusion
In an age of corruption, sleaze and scandal associated with financial crisis and economic downturn across the globe, citizens want more transparency and accountability in politics. This book examines a principal means by which this can be achieved: the regulation of lobbyists. It provides innovative insights into lobbying regulations across four continents – North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. What are these regulations about? What are the differences across the continents? How effective are the rules? How have they changed the lobbying profession?

Using qualitative and quantitative analyses, the book compares and contrasts regulatory laws in the US, Canada, Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Hungary, the EU, Taiwan and Australia. Six central questions guide the book:

- What is the brief history of the regulations in place in political systems which established lobbying rules during the 1900s - the US, Canada, Germany, and the EU?

- What is the nature of regulations in countries that have more recently established them in the 2000s - Lithuania, Poland, Hungary, Taiwan and Australia?

- How can the different regulatory environments throughout the world be theoretically classified?

- What do politicians, lobbyists, and regulators in those countries which established rules in the 1900s tell us about the ‘effectiveness’ of regulations: do the rules really promote transparency and accountability? What are the loopholes? And, how have the rules impacted the nature of lobbying?

- Why is there no mandatory lobbying registration in the European Commission and some jurisdictions in Canada and what are the different actors’ views on pursuing regulations?

- What are the various pros and cons of regulating lobbyists? What lessons can be learned by other states without regulations, including democracies in Europe, Asia, South America, and Africa?

Website: Regulate lobbying http://regulatelobbying.com/index.html

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