Towards regulating lobbying in Romania: A multi-faceted coin

Abstract

This paper focuses on the functional representation in post-Communist Romania, addressing the question of interest groups regulation. Taking into account the novelty of this matter in the Romanian political system, the aim of this paper is to describe and understand why the question of regulating lobbying has entered the Romanian political agenda 10 years after the collapse of the Communism. In other words, this contribution tries to illustrate the reasons for, and the public reaction to, a legislative proposal introduced in 2001 by a social-democrat Member of the Parliament. By focusing on the point of view expressed by the main political and social actors involved in the subsequent political and public debate, the paper maintains that regulating lobbying has been put on the political agenda of this country in the hope of solving some dysfunctional aspects observed in the domestic process of decision making. It argues that, in the Romanian political landscape, regulating lobbying became a multi-faceted coin.

Key words:

• Lobby
• interest groups regulation
• Romania
• civil society
• participation
• decision-making

Notes

¹ (a) What issues (of regulating lobby) were defined in the countries concerned, and why these were propelled to the policy agenda? (b) What the regulatory schemes are, and why they have taken the particular form they have? (c) How do they operate? (d) What problems arise in their interpretation and implementation? (e) What is the impact of regulation on interest groups and on the polity in general? For more details, see Greenwood and Thomas (1998, p. 498).

² This trend has been observed in different Western democracies too. See, for example, Rechtman (1998) and Warhurst (1998).