SP32073: Lobbying, policy communications and democracy
[Page last updated: 23 May 2025]
| Academic Year: | 2025/26 |
| Owning Department/School: | Department of Social & Policy Sciences |
| Credits: | 5 [equivalent to 10 CATS credits] |
| Notional Study Hours: | 100 |
| Level: | Honours (FHEQ level 6) |
| Period: |
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| Assessment Summary: | CWES 60%, CWOG 40% |
| Assessment Detail: |
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| Supplementary Assessment: |
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| Requisites: | |
| Learning Outcomes: |
By the end of the unit, students should be able to:
1. Discuss the nature of lobbying and outline how it relates to the policy process.
2. Compare and contrast the operation of lobbying in different institutional settings.
3. Identify and analyse key lobbying methods in relation to different policy contexts.
4. Chart and critique the organisational infrastructure of lobbying, as well as institutions used to regulate lobbying activity.
5. Design a proposal for a real-world lobbying campaign and critically reflect on this process. |
| Synopsis: | Discover the ways that lobbying exists as a key part of the daily routine of many of those involved in policymaking.
Lobbying has a shady reputation hardly a week goes by without news headlines announcing a controversy involving lobbyists, lobby groups or those who are lobbied.
In this unit, you will explore the complex relationships between lobbying, policy communications and democracy in a range of institutional and policy contexts. |
| Content: | Lobbying is a key part of the daily routine of many of those involved in policymaking. Yet it is also true that it has acquired a somewhat shady reputation - hardly a week goes by without news headlines announcing a controversy involving lobbyists, lobby groups or those who are lobbied. In this unit, we discuss complex relationships between lobbying, policy communications and democracy in a range of institutional and policy contexts. In addition, the unit gives students an opportunity to apply their knowledge of lobbying in practice by working on real-life scenarios. Throughout, students are encouraged to develop their own view on the role lobbying should play in a democratic polity. This unit has three parts. It begins by introducing students to the concept of lobbying. We then examine how lobbying operates in different institutional contexts across the globe. The second part documents the repertoire of methods that lobbyists employ to communicate policy ideas to decision-makers. We conclude this part by situating lobbying within the broader context of social science, particularly political sociology. The third part of the unit is practical, and it draws on insights from the two preceding parts. Towards the end the unit considers ways in which lobbying might be regulated to maximise benefits for democracy and the public interest. |
| Course availability: |
SP32073 is Optional on the following courses:Department of Social & Policy Sciences
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Notes:
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