The concept of "lobbyism" was first born in Britain in the middle of the XIX century. In its initial interpretation, lobbyism is pressure on decision-makers in order to provide the necessary decisions. The most striking example is the direct or indirect pressure on members of parliament during their voting on
the bills. This is exactly what the big British industrialists began to do, gathering on the sidelines of the Legislative Chamber in the days of the sessions and trying in one way or another to convince parliamentarians to make the necessary decisions.
Today lobbying is a somewhat broader phenomenon. It covers not only the sphere of interests of business, but also public organizations, science, education, art, ideological movements and so on. The political lobbyism of large industrialists of the century before last had a pronounced negative and even illegal character. Today, this activity has completely entered the daily life of the democratic states of the planet. In the modern world of political PR, lobbying is also a professional activity. Moreover, in a number of specialties of world and Russian universities, the corresponding discipline has recently appeared. And in the United States, according to statistics, there are more than 12 thousand official lobbyists.
Lobbyism in politics and its methods
There are two types of such actions: direct and indirect. The first include direct meetings and discussions with members of the legislative assembly; conducting presentations and campaigning in their midst; assisting in the preparation of bills; professional advice; the provision of various services to deputies and political parties; direct deposit of money into their account, for example, for running election campaigns. Indirect lobbying is mediated action by which pressure is put on parliamentarians. The following can be mentioned as his examples:
1. The influence of public opinion. In this case, certain moods are provoked in society itself (usually through the media), and then it becomes an instrument of pressure on lawmakers.
2. Social survey. Such surveys often have pre-planned results. This may be due to the choice of a particular social group, region, provoking a question and so on. Later published results of such surveys also become leverage.
3. Attraction of voters. This is the case when lobbyists directly appeal to citizens and agitate those who turn, in turn, to deputies: writing a letter, phone call. A large-scale option may be the convening of a rally for the adoption of certain bills.
4. Situational associations. In some cases, lobbyists can unite according to separate laws that are beneficial for members of such an association. Even if their other interests do not coincide. Deputies are more likely to meet with representatives of such groups, since this eliminates the need to listen to the requirements of different groups that duplicate each other. Accordingly, it saves effort and time.
