Lobbyists and Policy Adoption: The Case of the Aarhus Convention

Abstract

Previous studies of international environmental treaty ratification show that corruption and lobbyists to be influential in the ratification process. Using the Aarhus Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters as the focus, this article demonstrates that interaction of corrupt governments and increasing numbers of lobbyists hasten the ratification of the Aarhus Convention. It also demonstrates that past participation in environmental treaties, as well as government effectiveness (a measure of bureaucratic competence and public service delivery quality), both have negative influences on the ratification of the Aarhus Convention.