Lobbying and the Nordic Model: Strategic Communication in the Political Realm

Abstract

Organizational lobbying to influence political decision-makers varies in practice across political and cultural contexts. In this article, we generate ideas for future research on the Nordic region and how the Nordic model may impact the lobbying of organizations. The Nordic region is characterized by longstanding democratic traditions, corporatism, and collaborative political culture – the so-called Nordic model. Historically, Nordic countries have had an active state and have emphasized consensus and compromise in policymaking, resulting in a political environment with relatively low conflict levels. However, the decline of traditional and highly institutionalized corporatist structures and the rise of less formalized types of lobbying have led to significant changes. The emergence of a lobbying industry has raised concerns about the integrity of political decision-making, leading to government inquiries. With a particular focus on the Scandinavian countries, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, we discuss the legacies of and more recent changes regarding the role of the active state, the corporatist tradition, and the political culture. These elements, we argue, influence argumentation strategies and the need to generalize interests when communicating with political decision-makers.