Lobbying Practices of Citizens’ Groups in China

Abstract

As indicated in previous research, some of the advocacy groups in China try hard to represent their members and to have their voice heard in the policy-making process. However, little is known about how those groups influence decision making, what channels they utilize, and what they offer in exchange for access. This study is thus designed to provide better insight into political activities of citizens’ groups and to set the stage for testing plausible hypotheses on interest representation in China. To grow the understanding of advocacy groups’ interactions with the policy makers and their endeavors to mobilize public over policy issues, altogether 38 interviews have been conducted. The analysis of the interviews reveals that even though citizens’ groups extensively use their resources as access goods in exchange for participation in policy-making, for accomplishing advocacy goals public backing for their policy positions is considered even more important than direct access to decision makers. The findings suggest that using some of the interest representation theories and concepts developed in the Western societies despite the differences in political systems can be useful for explaining China’s advocacy groups’ political activities.