Uncovering interest group participation in Germany: web collection of written statements in ministries and the parliamen
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Uncovering interest group participation in Germany: web collection of written statements in ministries and the parliament Daniel Rasch1 · Florian Spohr2 · Rainer Eising2 · Simon Ress2 Published online: 1 August 2020 © The Author(s) 2020
Abstract This article discusses web collection of interest group statements on bills as a data source. Written statements allow the identification of actors active in policy-making as well as those actors’ positions, lobbying coalitions and issue saliency. These data also can contribute to the measurement of interest groups’ influence on legislation. Taking web collection from the German parliament’s and ministries’ web pages as an example, we demonstrate the collection process and the merits and limitations of employing written statements as identificatory data. Our analysis of statements submitted by interest groups, private firms and policy experts to four federal ministries and the respective parliamentary committees in the years 2015 and 2016 reveals differences between parliamentary and ministerial consultations. Although ministries have invited written statements for fewer draft laws than parliamentary committees, they received far more statements from interest groups. The reason is that German ministries often issue open calls, in which all actors are given the opportunity to comment on legislation, whereas the German parliament invites selected interest group representatives and other experts. As a further result, ministries are mostly contacted by business groups, whereas parliamentary committees use their gatekeeper function to balance interests. Keywords Consultations · Lobbying · Ministries · Parliament · Web collection · Written statements
* Daniel Rasch rasch@foev‑speyer.de 1
Chair of Political Science, German University of Administrative Sciences Speyer, Freiherr‑vom‑Stein‑Straße 2, 67346 Speyer, Germany
2
Chair of Comparative Politics, Ruhr-University Bochum, Universitätstraße 150, 44801 Bochum, Germany
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Introduction Interest group research widely considers interest mediation as an exchange of information between decision-makers and stakeholders. The underlying assumption is that external information helps decision-makers to increase the quality and the legitimacy of their decisions, sway public opinion, raise awareness and even secure budgets (Beyers et al. 2008; Beyers 2004; Yackee 2006). One key institutionalized and formalized way for ministries and parliaments to receive information from external actors is through written statements, understood as position papers that interest groups and other mobilized actors submit during the policy process (Rasmussen 2015). Written statements include different types of information. They can inform about the technical characteristics and potential consequences of a given policy. Statements can lay out the positions of actors and provide feedback for decision-makers on the opposition and support a policy might face. Different decision-
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