Lobbying in Europe: Public Affairs and the Lobbying Industry in 28 EU Countries A. Bitonti and P. Harris. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. (2017). ISBN 978‐1‐137‐55255‐6, xxix+368pages

• Author: Ian Richardson
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/pa.1835
• Published date: 01 November 2018
• Date: 01 November 2018

BOOK REVIEW

LOBBYING IN EUROPE: PUBLIC AFFAIRS

AND THE LOBBYING INDUSTRY IN 28 EU

COUNTRIES

Edited by A. Bitonti |P. Harris

Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. (2017). ISBN 978‐1‐137‐55255‐6, xxix

+368pages

It should be apparent to those reading the title of this book that what

it contains is designed to provide an account of lobbying and public

affairs practice within, and across, EU member states, as well as at

the level of the supranational authority. In order to provide the

requisite coverage, and depth of understanding, editors' Alberto

Bitonti and Phil Harris turn to an impressive array of academics and

practitioners across the region. The selection of these contributors—

representing as they do, unquestionable understanding of the subject

in various markets—is, ultimately, key to the value of the resulting

country‐specific descriptions provided in the text.

Theory development in the field of public affairs has, in large part,

been dependent on descriptive accounts of practice and, moreover, an

understanding that if we are to adequately account for the opaque

nature of public affairs activity and outcomes, practitioner engage-

ment in the project is essential. Bitonto and Harris, recognising this

necessity, draw no distinction in this volume between academic and

practitioner contribution instead choosing to address an important

inconsistency in the public affairs domain. An inconsistency caused

by the development and non‐development of theory in different

markets. In short, certain countries have received considerably more

attention than others and this book addresses the deficiency by

providing an informed introduction to lobbying practice across all

European markets. What stands out, in many ways, is the persistence

and significance of so many country‐level idiosyncrasies and their

continued relevance to public affairs practice. Something that

should be of immediate interest to any organisation considering pan‐

European strategic communications activity.

Situated between chapters on lobbying and public affairs in

Europe, the role of lobbying in the modern democracy, and a look at

the institutional development and public affairs composition of the

EU, the book is mainly comprised of individual chapters devoted to

public affairs practice in each of the 28 EU member states. Typically,

these chapters provide descriptions of the political system, the state

of development of the public affairs industry, specific regulatory or

institutional constraints affecting the industry, a description of instru-

ments and practices, profiles of lobbyists, and industry bodies, as well

as suggestions as to what the future holds for public affairs practice in

that country. Taken together, and complementing discussion of lobby-

ing of the EU, this book provides the most comprehensive snapshot of

present day public affairs practice across the region currently

available.

The book is well structured, easy to navigate, and highly

accessible. It should be of interest to public affairs practitioners and

academics alike and will almost certainly establish itself as a core

resource on many public affairs/lobbying related courses.

Ian Richardson

Director of Executive Education, Stockholm Business School, Stockholm

University

Received: 8 May 2018 Accepted: 8 May 2018

DOI: 10.1002/pa.1835

J Public Affairs. 2018;18:e1835.

https://doi.org/10.1002/pa.1835

© 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/pa 1of1