The role of ‘diplomatic lobbying’ in shaping US foreign policy and its effects on the Australia–US relationship

ABSTRACT

Lobbying as a form of engagement with the US Congress has long been studied from a domestic perspective. Lobbying, however, is not a practice confined to actors with domestic interests—it is also used as a form of diplomacy by many foreign governments, including Australia. Diplomatic lobbying is a vastly understudied phenomenon and its impact on US foreign relations is rarely examined. Unlike most Westminster-based democracies, the USA has two branches directly involved with foreign affairs—the Executive and Congress—each of which is important for different aspects of foreign policy development. Australia has found lobbying the US Congress to be a powerful tool for diplomatic engagement. This article looks at the role of the US Congress in foreign affairs, the effects of lobbying, and the ways in which diplomats engage with and lobby Congress. Australia’s specific lobbying efforts and their effects on the US–Australia relationship are then examined.

KEYWORDS:

• Australia–United States Free Trade Agreement
• Congress
• Congressional Liaison Office
• Defense Trade Cooperation Treaty
• diplomacy
• diplomatic lobbying
• E3 visa
• foreign affairs
• foreign lobbying
• free trade agreement
• trade promotion authority
• Trans-Pacific Partnership

Acknowledgements

Special thanks to Dr Adam Lockyer, Michael Coyne, Alexander Rohlwing and Rohan Mishra.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

ORCiD

Alan Tidwell http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5063-4912

Notes

1 https://www.fara.gov/quick-search.html

2 https://www.fara.gov/quick-search.html

3 The phrase ‘locally engaged staff’ refers primarily to the terms and conditions of employment, rather than to a person’s nationality. Many locally engaged staff in the Australian Embassy, for example, are Australians without the terms and conditions normally extended to diplomatic staff. The benefit to the embassy is largely budgetary.

4 Congress.gov (H.R.4759; (accessed October 24, 2015). https://www.congress.gov/bill/108th-congress/house-bill/4759/titles

5 Congress.gov (HR-1268; accessed October 24, 2015). https://www.congress.gov/bill/109th-congress/house-bill/1268.

6 Congress.gov (S.3581; accessed October 24, 2015). https://www.congress.gov/bill/111th-congress/senate-bill/3581?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22defense+trade+cooperation+treaty%22%5D%7D&resultIndex=2.

Additional information

Funding

Funding for this project came from a Georgetown University, School of Foreign Service, Research grant.