COIMBRA BUSINESS REVIEW

LOBBYING IN PORTUGAL: TO REGULATE OR NOT TO REGULATE?

Susana Coroado
Institute of Social Sciences (ICS-UL),
University of Lisbon, Portugal
susana.coroado@ics.ul.pt

Luís de Sousa
Governance, Competitiveness and Public Policies (GOVCOPP),
University of Aveiro, Portugal
lmsousa@ua.pt

ABSTRACT: In recent years, lobbying has taken up an important space in national and international agendas for political reform. Portugal has recently attempted to pass a law regulating lobbying at the executive level, but the legislative process was brought to a halt as it failed to mobilize sufficient support across the political spectrum. There are still a series of misconceptions about lobbying that curtail any well-intentioned regulatory efforts. Lobbying regulation cannot be drafted based on general suppositions and moral claims. In order to design a robust and purposeful lobbying regulation, it is necessary to understand what is at stake, so that we cannot expect more than what the regulatory framework is capable to deliver.

KEYWORDS: lobbying, regulation, conflicts of interest

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volume 2 | number 1 - July 2016