Government Lobbying Research Articles

Koreagate Revisited: ROK Government Lobbying on the Human Rights Issue

ABSTRACT Republic of Korea (ROK) lobbying in the United States during the 1970s, which blew up into the Koreagate scandal, is a widely known but understudied episode in US-ROK relations. Utilizing declassified documents from the ROK Ministry of Foreign Affairs, this article argues President Park Chung Hee was pressured by Congressional condemnation of his human rights abuses and he sought to tame criticism through lobbying. To this end, ROK diplomats actively lobbied Congress in an attempt to guide the narrative of human rights hearings, temper legislation to cut military aid and force withdrawal of US troops from Korea, and silence critics.

Bisikan atau Suara Lantang: Perjalanan Advokasi Kebijakan Larangan Penggunaan Plastik Sekali-Pakai Melalui Partisipasi Pemuda di Provinsi DKI Jakarta dan Bali

Policy making in a democratic country must be inclusive—involving the participation of various segments of society, youth is no exception to be left behind. The attempt made by the public to influence this process is called policy advocacy. There are various problems in this country that require policy advocacy, one of which is the climate crisis. Since the problem is quite complex and has many sub-facets, the climate crisis needs a serious policy instrument from the government. One of the issues that is closely related to the climate crisis is the use of single-use plastic bags. This study aims to look at youth participation in policy advocacy related to the ban on the single-use plastic bags in DKI Jakarta and Bali Provinces. Using a qualitative approach, this study compares youth organizations that carry out policy advocacy in each province—namely Gerakan Indonesia Diet Kantong Plastik (GIDKP) in DKI Jakarta and Bye Bye Plastics Bag (BBPB) in Bali. Based on Hart’s ladder of youth participation, it appears that youth participation in GIDKP’s campaign activities is at level 6 (adult-inisiated shared decisions with youth) while BBPB’s is already at level 8 (youth-initiated shared decisions with adults)—but only reaches level 3 (tokenism) for direct government lobbying. Thus, based on Gen and Wright’s framework of policy advocacy strategies , it can be concluded that GIDKP carries out direct reform strategy whilst BBPB tends to use popular power strategy. There needs to be a collaboration between both organization’s specific strategies and competencies to achieve their mutual policy advocacy goal.

R2 (Resident Advocacy Project) Reducing the Risk of ATV-related Harm in Saskatchewan Children

Abstract Rationale and Objectives All-terrain vehicles (ATVs) are the second highest cause of transport-related hospitalizations, emergency room visits, and disabilities in Saskatchewan citizens of all ages. Saskatchewan law restricts the use of ATVs by children aged 12-16 and bans the use of ATVs by children under the age of 12 on public land. Previous CPS status reports had found this level of legislation inadequate. Clinically, we certainly see many children enter Saskatchewan hospitals for ATV-related injuries, and previous attempts at education campaigns and government lobbying have not been successful. There is limited Saskatchewan information on this issue, so we first sought to gather data to identify where social and legislative advocacy efforts should be directed. Project Description We partnered with the Saskatchewan Prevention Institute, a non-profit organization working to prevent injuries in children, as they have worked on ATV safety over the years with community partners as well as government. We completed a retrospective chart review to describe the prevalence and outcomes of ATV accidents in children and youth (aged 20 and under) presenting to hospitals in Saskatoon from 2016 to 2021. Armed with this data, we will be able to improve education campaigns as well as share information with key stakeholders, and hopefully effect change. Outcomes During the study period, 354 children presented to hospital after an ATV accident (most aged 12-16 years). Over 90% of children using dirt-bikes were wearing a helmet compared to 48% of children using four-wheeled ATVs (quads, side-by-sides, and other ATVs). Accidents involving quads resulted in an average hospital stay of 10 days, compared to 2 days for cases involving dirt-bikes. Finally, the type of injury was significantly associated with the patient’s health region of residence. For example, children living in the North and Far North Saskatchewan accounted for the highest proportion of moderate/severe head injuries (76.19%) and polytraumas (50%). Discussion/Future Directions This data suggests that there is a potential knowledge gap in public knowledge regarding the risks of children using ATVs; that there may be barriers to helmet use; and, most strikingly, that there is a disproportionate number of severe injuries occurring in northern Saskatchewan. New public education initiatives are now in development based on these findings. There are many stakeholders to consider, and we are aiming to share our data so that evidence-based policy decisions can be made. We are currently drafting a letter to relevant ministries, and hope to have more progress to share in the near future.

Blockchain financialization, neo-colonialism, and Binance

This article will look at the financial geographies and legacies of neo-colonialism to critique the emergence of blockchain financialization in the developing world. Blockchain “financialization” advances through the interplay of crypto imaginaries, new platform economies, and the trading infrastructure for highly leveraged financial products. The largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, has presented itself as a champion of the blockchain for development paradigm in Africa. Its success in the region relies on the use of community leaders, hackathons, and the lobbying of governments for regulatory concessions. Binance operates on two scales. Firstly, it is part of a fintech vanguard attempting to dismantle New Deal financial regulatory systems in the Global North (Omarova, Yale Journal on Regulation, 2019, 36, 735–793; Allen, H, DeFi: Shadow Banking 2.0?, 2022). Secondly, it as an agent of financialization in the developing world, promoting DeFi to map the speculative micro-financial practices of the Global South. Crypto and blockchain thus represent extensions of “subprime empire” (Schuster, Current Anthropology, 2021, 62, 389–411) in which marginal economic activities in fragile developing world contexts feed into the North-South extraction of value. This article will outline Binance’s forays into Nigeria as an example of the micro and macro scales of neocolonial finance and the interplay of infrastructure, territory, and the social imaginary in blockchain.

Shopping Intentions during COVID-19: What Can Canadian Businesses Learn to Encourage Future Consumer Support?

This study examined shopping intentions of Canadian consumers post-COVID-19, and their intentions to specifically support Canadian businesses. Actionable recommendations that domestic businesses could implement to encourage support were also sought. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected online; quantitative data were analyzed by conducting raw frequencies, which captured the directionality of consumer shopping intentions. The qualitative data were subsequently analyzed by conducting an inductive thematic analysis, which obtained in-depth information about how businesses could support these intentions. Although most participants reported that they planned on maintaining their general shopping behaviors post-COVID-19, a majority also reported that they intended to specifically increase their support for domestic businesses. A variety of actionable recommendations were proposed that could be undertaken by domestic businesses to garner support both in a Canadian and international context. These themes were related to accessibility, affordability, advertising, quality, visibility, government lobbying, business values, business-consumer relationships, and maintaining the status quo. Further, these themes may be relevant to domestic businesses globally, particularly those with similar cultural orientations to Canada. The findings could assist businesses globally with idea generation and marketing strategies to attract consumers. Further, this exploratory study could help inform and support economic recovery efforts in a post-COVID-19 era.

Proactive internationalization and diaspora mobilization in a networked movement: the case of Hong Kong’s Anti-Extradition Bill protests

ABSTRACT One distinctive feature of the 2019 Anti-Extradition Bill Movement in Hong Kong is the ‘international front’ on which both Hong-Kong-based activists and members of diaspora communities engaged in public diplomacy and foreign government lobbying. While the emergence of the international front can partly be explained by perceived political opportunities and protesters’ identity change, this article focuses on the evolution of mobilizing structures. Of particular interest is how the mobilizing structures were activated, expanded, and transformed in a protest campaign marked by certain core features of networked social movements. Based on in-depth interviews with twenty activists, the analysis illustrates the co-presence of and complementarity between digitally enabled, citizen self-initiated actions and organization-based mobilization. The analysis also shows how tactical shifts, negotiation of differences among activists, and state response drove the transformation of activist network. General theoretical implications on understanding of diaspora mobilization and networked social movements are discussed.

Forming a 5G strategy for developing countries: A note for policy makers

This paper aims to provide policy makers in low income and middle income countries with a pragmatic review of the critical issues in formulating effective strategies and planning to embrace the next generation of mobile cellular technology. In a context of industry lobbying of governments to promote 5G, the paper attempts to bring clarity to just what are the critical issues, specifically for an industrial policy to deal with this novel but complex technology. Planning for 5G is a series of complicated choices as there are issues at the levels of creating ecosystems to support it, unproven business models, with claims for applications which may not be financially viable, yet, plus confusion over choices of radio spectrum, and selection of equipment suppliers, even potential issues over public health, as well as the real level of industrial and consumer demand beyond the hype. The emphasis here is on the importance of making balanced strategic choices, by identifying the basic issues, in a ‘realpolitik’ fashion - including why embrace 5G at all. The paper develops its insights from lessons learnt in the introduction of the previous mobile generation, LTE, also from policy studies on small cells and on designing auctions for 5G networks, as well as various 5G-focused publications from governments, regulatory authorities, mobile industry associations and global suppliers over the past six years (2015–2020). It examines whether to regulate 5G deployment with a heavy or light-touch regime, also whether to focus on more than the traditional indicators, such as penetration and coverage, or on “transformational outcomes” (as the promotional literature terms them) for the private and public sectors.

Research on Intergovernmental Lobbying in the United States: Assessing the Benefits of Accumulated Knowledge

In the last 15 years, there has been a growing accumulation of research on lobbyists and lobbying offices that represent state and local governments in either Washington or in state capitals. This essay seeks to cumulate the scope of these and earlier efforts, and assess where our knowledge is deepest and where significant unanswered questions remain. In general, we know more about lobbyists who represent governors and more about lobbying in the federal arena. We know less about lobbying by those representing other types of public officials and less about lobbying in state capitals. Recent research on local government lobbying, however, has led to significant gains in our ability to measure the financial benefits of intergovernmental lobbying.

WHY DID RUSSIA LOSE ALASKA? RETURNING TO THE OLD TOPIC IN THE LIGHT OF THE NEW FACTS AND DOCUMENTS

This article explores the historical circumstances of the sale of Russian possessions on the North American continent in 1867. The recently introduced facts and documents authorize the author to state that the real reasons for the «concession» of Alaska to the United States of America lie not in the weakness of Russia, unable to retain its overseas territories, but in possession of a government lobby at that time that managed to push through the fraudulent agreement. The fact that the Кing's brother was part of the people interested in selling Alaska speaks of the might of forces that have neglected the interests of the state for their own benefit. As a result, the geopolitical security of the Russian Empire was undermined, which in the person of the United States received not a friend, but a cruel and strong opponent.

Conquering C – Going Beyond Cure

Prof Zeuzem opened the symposium by acknowledging that there is a new era in hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment, due to the availability of efficacious treatments that could eradicate the disease. Prof Pawlotsky outlined recent advances in the field of HCV and discussed the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) Recommendations on Treatment of Hepatitis C 2015, which were released at the congress. These recommendations prioritise the available HCV treatments in Europe, from treatment-naïve to treatment-experienced patients and in the context of patients with various stages of HCV disease, and highlight the need to remain vigilant for possible drug–drug interactions (DDIs) between HCV direct-acting antiviral agent (DAA) treatments and regular pharmaceutical medications. Dr Bourlière then described the remaining challenges in HCV relating to treatment of certain patient populations, such as those with advanced disease and specific contraindications. Prof Foster presented the real-life challenges of treating a patient population that can have heterogeneous characteristics and presented the recent outcomes of nationally implemented programmes for HCV. Mr Charles Gore, a patient advocate, described the World Health Organization (WHO) policies in HCV and highlighted that government lobbying by physicians and patients was required to improve awareness and prioritise HCV treatment. Prof Afdhal then summarised the current impact of HCV on productiveness and patient outcomes, and spoke about the benefits of patient access programmes in expanding the pool of patients who can be treated along with the cost implications of the global eradication of HCV. Finally, Prof Zeuzem emphasised how HCV is currently perceived as a lower global priority compared with other viral diseases and that lobbying will be required to demonstrate how investments into the treatment of HCV patients would dramatically reduce the prevalence and long-term costs of the disease.

Corporate Reputation Decoded

Corporate reputation is a complex subject, and this book attempts to do justice to it by being expansive in its scope. Corporate Reputation Decoded covers a wide range of concepts and practices associated with reputation building, including reputation measurement, corporate governance legislation, leadership issues, government lobbying, crisis management, media handling and digital influencing, while situating it in the Indian context, illustrating the antecedents, processes and consequences of corporate reputation. Even as it provides an overview of key concepts and tactics for building, maintaining and restoring corporate reputations, the book refrains from drawing a road map of the process, allowing readers to assess and evaluate for themselves the benefits and drawbacks of various tactics.

Lobbying Behavior of Governmental Entities: Evidence from Public Pension Accounting Rules

We examine the lobbying behavior of state governments in the development of recently issued public pension accounting standards GASB 67 and 68. Consistent with opportunistic motivations, we find that states’ opposition to the liability increasing provisions embedded in these standards is increasing in the severity of pension plan underfunding, state budget deficits, and the use of high discount rates. Further we find opposing states are subject to more stringent balanced budget requirements and greater political pressure from unions. By contrast, we find evidence that the support from financial statement users for these provisions is amplified in states with poorly funded plans and large budget deficits, suggesting government lobbying is misaligned with a public interest perspective. We also find evidence that user support varies by type: internal users (public employees) overwhelmingly oppose the standards, relative to external users (credit analysts and the broader citizenry) but the difference is moderated in states with constitutionally protected benefits. This finding is consistent with the expectation that pension accounting reform will motivate cuts in pension benefits as opposed to increased levels of funding from the governments. Analyses of 2011 and 2012 state pension reforms confirm that states opposed to accounting reform are more likely to cut pension benefits.

Drug promotion tactics-yet another pharma deception?

There is no doubting that in recent times, the pharmaceutical industry has been met with growing scepticism and outright mistrust from many quarters. This is primarily in relation to the controversy surrounding many drug companies' decision to withhold negative clinical trial data from public scrutiny. The practice of non-disclosure relating to such negative findings leads to erroneously exaggerated claims of efficacy or minimised reports of harm in relation to a drug. In the UK, the All Trials Initiative is spearheading the lobbying of government, regulators and research bodies to impose mandatory disclosure of all clinical trial data. But what if these initiatives actually succeeded in achieving their goals? Would this really signify an absolute victory over the pharmaceutical industry's use of deceptive tactics to mislead doctors and patients alike? Or do they have other ways and means of manipulation?

Identifying best practice in national tourism organisations

The UK Leisure and Tourism sector is uniquely fragmented at government and industry levels and comprises a wide and diverse range of products and services. Tourist boards and strategic authorities are important for the thousands of small enterprises that provide accommodation, food, attractions and travel services in Britain. These organisations are responsible for marketing to incoming visitors and they provide a voice on industry issues. This article presents the findings of qualitative, exploratory analysis into the remits and positioning of six National Tourism Organisations in terms of the role each plays in interfacing with other interest groups to influence tourism policy issues and to support the tourism industry. Emphasis is placed on exploring the partnership-working dynamic between national tourism organisations and interest groups towards exerting influence on policy formulation. The study identifies best practice in partnership working and government lobbying based on thematic interviews. A thematic network is presented to suggest how the best practice partnership aspects that are identified might be applied in a UK context.

Key outcomes from stakeholder workshops at a symposium to inform the development of an Australian national plan for rare diseases

BackgroundCalls have been made for governments to adopt a cohesive approach to rare diseases through the development of national plans. At present, Australia does not have a national plan for rare diseases. To progress such a plan an inaugural Australian Rare Diseases Symposium was held in Western Australia in April 2011. This paper describes the key issues identified by symposium attendees for the development of a national plan, compares these to the content of EUROPLAN and national plans elsewhere and discusses how the outcomes might be integrated for national planning.MethodsThe symposium was comprised of a series of plenary sessions followed by workshops. The topics covered were; 1) Development of national plans for rare diseases; 2) Patient empowerment; 3) Patient care, support and management; 4) Research and translation; 5) Networks, partnerships and collaboration. All stakeholders within the rare diseases community were invited to participate, including: people affected by rare diseases such as patients, carers, and families; clinicians and allied health practitioners; social and disability services; researchers; patient support groups; industry (e.g. pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device companies); regulators and policy-makers.ResultsAll of these stakeholder groups were represented at the symposium. Workshop participants indicated the need for a national plan, a national peak body, a standard definition of ‘rare diseases’, education campaigns, lobbying of government, research infrastructure, streamlined whole-of-lifetime service provision, case co-ordination, early diagnosis, support for health professionals and dedicated funding.ConclusionsThese findings are consistent with frameworks and initiatives being undertaken internationally (such as EUROPLAN), and with national plans in other countries. This implies that the development of an Australian national plan could plausibly draw on frameworks for plan development that have been proposed for use in other jurisdictions. The translation of the symposium outcomes to government policy (i.e. a national plan) requires the consideration of several factors such as the under-representation of some stakeholder groups (e.g. clinicians) and the current lack of evidence required to translate some of the symposium outcomes to policy options. The acquisition of evidence provides a necessary first step in a comprehensive planning approach.

Environmental activists and non-active environmentalists in Australia

The environmental movement is no longer a ‘new’ movement and what passed as ‘new’ and unconventional forms of action have waned, increasingly displaced by cyber campaigns and conventional lobbying of governments by environmental movement organisations. Examination of the social and political backgrounds of Australian environmental group members shows that members of protest-oriented environmental groups tend to be leftwing and younger than average. However, those who play active roles in environmental groups are not young and are far less likely to join protest groups. While young Australians are more environmentally aware than ever before, they may associate participation in environmental groups beyond monetary donations and virtual activism with the behaviour of their protest-oriented parents and grandparents.

Uganda: a renewal campaign

ICTURINACTION□ UGANDA PROJECT Uganda: a renewal campaign PeterBarnacle,a visitinglecturer at Makarere University in Uganda, has used his timeinthe country to help ICTURand three Canadian unions supportan innovativetrade unionproject PETER BARNACLE isa Canadian lawyer and is Coordinator of ICTUR's Uganda project The is comprised the National principal of Union 169,000 labour ofTrade federation members Unions in in (NOTU) Uganda twenty is theprincipal labourfederation inUganda comprisedof 169,000membersin twenty tradeunionaffiliates. NOTUis thelabourcentral recognised bytheinternational labourcommunity and a member of the ICTU and the Organisationof AfricanTrade Union Unity (OATUU). NOTU affiliates are membersof ten GlobalUnionFederations. NOTU and its affiliates have gone through someverydifficult times, notsimply because of thecivilinstability thatcharacterised thecountry from independence in 1962through to 1986,the datethecurrent government tookpower, butalso as a resultof the implementation of IMF and World BankStructural Adjustment Programmes in the1990s.Privatisation ofstateenterprises was a particular sourceofjob lossas newprivate owners shed theirworkforce or asset-stripped the enterprise and disappeared- sometimeseven withoutpayingthe Government the purchase price.Budgetpressures also led to loss ofgovernment jobs. As a result, manyworkers were forced intotheinformal economyand stilltoday nearly 60 percent ofallworkers areintheinformaleconomy . Thelossofmembership hampered tradeunionactivity. However,in recentyearsprogresson labour issueshas indeedbeenmade.UndertheUganda Constitution, labour is considereda disadvantaged groupentitled to dedicatedseats in the National Parliament. FivelabourMP'sareelected and fourof theseare affiliated withNOTU. In 2006, Parliament completedratification of the eight ILO conventions underlying theDeclaration of Fundamental Principles and Rightsat Work (1998). Subsequently, new laws were passed to incorporate theseinternational commitments into domestic law. In 2007and 2008,I metwithNOTUofficials in Kampalato discussa potential partnership with ICTURto help NOTU develop capacityto supportitsaffiliates in a renewedrecruitment and organisation campaign. NOTUhasreceived international support fora number ofyearsfrom the Norwegian tradeunionfederation, LO-Norway, as wellas ITUC,ILO and otheragenciessuchas DANIDA.However,the conceptwe developed was nottoduplicate existing work, buttoengage ina project tohelpNOTUleaditsaffiliates inthis renewal campaign for trade union rightsin Uganda. We subsequently agreedto engage in a twophase projectfor which the contribution of ICTURwould be to provideinternational sponsorshipand exposureas well as administer project fundsotherwise raisedin the international labourcommunity. The first phase consistedof six initiatives to providethesupportforNOTU and affiliates forthesecondor campaignphase oftheProject. I ampleasedtoreport that through theassistance ofCanadiantradeunions,we are now intheprocessofwrapping up theactivities inthisinitial phase: ■ The Project financed theinstallation ofwirelessinternet attheNOTUoffices inKampala, as wellas committing topayment ofthequarterly service charges forthenextthree years. With thefinancial support provided from CanadabytheNational UnionofPublicand GeneralEmployees' (NUPGE),theold dial-up is goneandthenew internet service was put inplace inApril2009.Thishas significantly improved NOTU'scommunication and research capabilities. Wesubsequently wereable tosecurefunding formostoftheremaining first phaseinitiativesthrough thecontributions oftwo Canadiantradeunionfunds: theGlobal Justice fundoftheCanadianUnionofPublic Employees (CUPE) and theSocialJustice FundoftheCanadianAutoWorkers (CAW). I As a result, theProject financed thepreparationoffour research paperson significant labourissuesthat werepresented directly to His Excellency, President Museveni, bythe NOTUSecretariat ina meeting inOctober 2009.Thesecarefully researched paperscoveredtopicssuchas theneedforan employmentpolicytobreakthecycleofpoverty , a statutory minimum wage and socialsecurity improvements. The President has now requested a further meeting todiscussthe papers,butinthemeantime we understand thatan employment policyis nowbeingconsideredatcabinetlevelandthegovernment is actively considering theimplementation ofa minimum wage. II In November 2009,theProject funded a fourdayconference atwhichtheNOTUaffiliates participated ina strategic planning exercise. A consultant wasretained tofacilitate and assist inthedevelopment oftheresulting strategic plans,a processthatcontinues tothepresent. Wepresently havesixaffiliates inthethird andfinal completion stage,withsevenothers atseconddraft. In theupcoming second phaseoftheProject, we plantoassistindividual affiliates to canvasstheinternational labourcommunity through ICTUR'scommunicationsnetwork inorderto helpthemfind partnerships withother organisations that will assistintheimplementation ofthosestrategic plans. INTERNATIONAL union rights Page 20Volume 17Issue 1201 0 ICTURINACTIONH UGANDA PROJECT ■ Theremaining initiatives inthefirst phaseof theProject arealso nowbeingcompleted: funding forin-house research tosupport government lobbying and affiliate collective bargaining ; thedevelopment ofa NOTUwebsite; andinstallation ofa back-upsourceofpower atNOTU'soffices that willhelpNOTUcontinue tofunction inthemidst oftherather frequentpowerinterruptions thatoccurin Kampala. Recently, I metwiththeNOTU Secretariat and Central Governing Councilto takestockof our project to dateand discussthenextphase.As a result, one ofournextefforts willnow be makingthecallfor partnerships forthoseNOTUaffiliateswhowillhavecompleted thestrategic planning process.We are hopefulthatindividual tradeunionswillbe preparedto workwiththe NOTUtrade unionaffiliates who aredemonstrating theircommitment to improvethe lives of workers andtheir families inUganda. NOTU and its affiliates are now conducting aggressive organising campaigns andearly results are positive.For example,theHorticulture and Allied WorkersUnion has now negotiateda recognitionagreementwith the majorityof employers in theflower industry and is now in theprocessofnegotiating a collective bargaining agreementwith the employers' association. Progress has also recently been madeinorganisingin thehotelindustry and mediasector. The government seems to be interested in hearing whatNOTUhastosayon labourandsocialmattersand NOTUhas been invited toparticipate in a tripartite processwithgovernment andemployergroupson specific issues.Lobbying efforts...

Next Door they have Regulation, but not here …: Assessing the Opinions of Actors in the Opaque World of Unregulated Lobbying

The lobbying of government by various interests is regarded as central to the democratic process. Deliberative democratic theorists tell us that the regulation of lobbying has a positive effect on political systems, and the behaviour of those within them. Yet, only four democratic systems (Canada, USA, EU and Germany) have legislation regulating lobbyists’ activities, and even this regulation is not all pervasive. Here we examine the attitudes of actors in states, provinces, and institutions in the above democracies, where no regulations exist. This ensures that the actors we deal with have knowledge of lobbying regulations, what these regulations entail, as well as the consequences of the absence of any such regulations. Our objective is to discover if these actors see benefits in the introduction of lobbying legislation, as is suggested by deliberative democratic theory.

“Next Door They Have Regulation, But Not Here …”: Assessing the Opinions of Actors in the Opaque World of Unregulated Lobbying

The lobbying of government by various interests is regarded as central to the democratic process. Deliberative democratic theorists tell us that the regulation of lobbying has a positive effect on political systems, and the behaviour of those within them. Yet, only four democratic systems (Canada, USA, EU and Germany) have legislation regulating lobbyists’ activities, and even this regulation is not all pervasive. Here we examine the attitudes of actors in states, provinces, and institutions in the above democracies, where no regulations exist. This ensures that the actors we deal with have knowledge of lobbying regulations, what these regulations entail, as well as the consequences of the absence of any such regulations. Our objective is to discover if these actors see benefits in the introduction of lobbying legislation, as is suggested by deliberative democratic theory.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Episcopal Bench, and the Passage of the 1911 Parliament Act

The passage of the 1911 Parliament Bill ended the power of the British house of lords to veto any legislation passed by the house of commons. Henceforth, it could only delay the passage of a measure. The bill was carried by a mere 17 votes and friction between Unionists who took up die‐hard opposition, advised abstention, or actively sought to aid passage was bitter. The role which the archbishop of Canterbury played in canvassing the episcopal bench and helping to ensure final passage of the bill has not attracted much attention. Prior to the debate, the archbishop advised abstention but did not dissuade others from encouraging bishops to support the bill to help ensure passage. Before the vote, therefore, ‘die‐hards’ opposing any concession to the government, ‘hedgers’ advising Unionist abstention in the vote, and ‘rats’, Unionists willing to vote for the bill to ensure passage despite personal reservations, attempted to sound out and pressure the bishops in their direction. At the debate, the archbishop changed his mind and decided he must support the bill in order to avoid a greater crisis, and 12 other bishops joined him in the government lobby, helping to create the final majority of 17 by which the measure passed. Consideration of the role of the bishops adds to the understanding of the mechanics by which the bill passed, amidst considerable intrigue, pressure and acrimony, as well as further illuminating the extent and intensity of the divisions within the Unionist party at this critical moment.