ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses that these close-knit ties have content in the form of mutual and overlapping expectations. If one meets these expectations, if he/she plays by the rules, they can gain some concrete advantages. It argues these specific expectations are enforceable, but lobbyists carefully choose enforcement strategies that are not damaging to their own reputations, to their direct relations, and to the fabric of the community at large. Cooperative norms underpin everyday relations among lobbyists in a policy domain. Lobbyists in a policy domain connected to each other through repeated and multiple relations. The interests of the members of a close-knit group are part of the calculations of any member of the group. The first substantive norm is of a general call for cooperation, which in turn is made concrete in a number of informal rules that govern certain ordinary interactions. Providing services is another form of cooperation. The chapter discusses the basic ideas of norms and informal institutions.
