MACMILLAN Interest Groups and Experimentalist Governance in the EU: New Modes of Lobbying (Palgrave Studies in European Political Sociology)

This book researches the role that interest groups play in new modes of EU governance, with a specific focus on the role of interest representation in experimentalist governance frameworks. The research asks how lobbying in the legislative process contributes to the governance framework and its institutional arrangements and subsequently asks how the relevant interest groups participate in policy implementation – in which broad policy goals are concretised.  The research is based on four in-depth case studies: the Industrial Emissions Directive, the General Data Protection Regulation, the Combating Child Abuse Directive, and the Institutions for Occupational Retirement Provision Directive. Of special interest in these cases are the balance between types of interest groups (most notably business and NGOs) in policy formulation and implementation, and the changing dynamics between interest groups and public policy-makers in such ‘horizontal’ governance. The book’s findings are required reading for all those concerned with effective and democratic policy-making in the EU. Review Imaginative, smart, and thorough are the first words that come to mind when describing this magnificent book. Douwe Truijens successfully manages to link two scholarly fields on European decision-making procedures which thus far have developed in isolation, but as the case studies convincingly highlight, have so much to offer to each other. In an academic world slowly evolving into hyper-specialism, this book feels like a breath of fresh air. – Marcel Hanegraaff, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands   Governance is changing, with claims that it has become less hierarchical and more experimental. This book engages deeply with core debates about its development that are crucial both for theory in public policy, administration and political sociology, as well as for practice. Its investigation covers case studies that are varied and vital- industrial data protection, occupational retirement, and protection of children. Its excellent investigation is invaluable for those interested in contemporary governance. – Mark Thatcher, Professor of Political Science, Luiss University, Italy   What is the role of NGOs and business associations in experimentalist governance? And how do new forms of recursive policy making influence the preferences and lobbying strategies of such interest groups? Douwe Truijens’s innovative book tackles these important but understudied questions through in-depth comparative case studies across four major policy fields: industrial emissions, data privacy, online child protection, and occupational pensions. His insightful findings shed valuable light on the potential―but also the pitfalls―of these new forms of public-private interaction for improving the effectiveness and legitimacy of European governance. – Jonathan Zeitlin, Distinguished Faculty Professor of Political Science and Director of the Amsterdam Centre for European Studies (ACES), University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands From the Back Cover Imaginative, smart, and thorough are the first words that come to mind when describing this magnificent book. Douwe Truijens successfully manages to link two scholarly fields on European decision-making procedures which thus far have developed in isolation, but as the case studies convincingly highlight, have so much to offer to each other. In an academic world slowly evolving into hyper-specialism, this book feels like a breath of fresh air. – Marcel Hanegraaff, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands  Governance is changing, with claims that it has become less hierarchical and more experimental. This book engages deeply with core debates about its development that are crucial both for theory in public policy, administration and political sociology, as well as for practice. Its investigation covers case s