Nichtregierungsorganisationen im Kontext von Politikberatung und Lobbyismus in der Wahrnehmung deutscher und polnischer Abgeordneter

Abstract

Non-governmental organizations as representatives of civil society have a special place in the political decision-making process. Through access to wide variety of social groups and specialised information, they have knowledge which politicians cannot offer. The presence of arguments of non-governmental organizations in the decision-making processes depends, however, on a number of factors, including development of civil society, the specificity of NGOs, political culture, but also on attitudes towards non-governmental organizations on the part of politicians, in particular those involved in the decision-making process. Therefore, it is interesting and important in this context to determine how members of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland and the Bundestag in Germany, who are recipients of expert knowledge, perceive non-governmental organizations. The aim of the article is to define what function MEPs assign to NGOs in the decision-making process, whether they are the source of expert knowledge for the politicians, scientific policy advice, or they are considered to be lobbyists. Other research questions relate to whether politicians use the knowledge offered by NGOs and if so what type of organizations they cooperate best with, what the channels of communication between NGOs and politicians are, and what barriers had been identified in their cooperation. Thus the aim is to deepen the knowledge about non-governmental organizations in the context of the issue of political consulting and lobbying analysed in this publication. But also to show characteristics of cooperation between politicians and non-governmental organizations in Poland and Germany. This analysis is an introduction to the discussion about the role and significance of NGOs in the decision-making process and factors determining them. The study is based on qualitative surveys of in-depth interviews with Polish and German MPs.