ABSTRACT
Studies of interest representation and advocacy in the European Union (EU), 1 a new power centre outside the nation-state, are as old as the European integration process itself. The transfer of power to a new venue is the starting point for all studies on non-state actor activities (Baumgartner and Jones 1993). Whilst this aspect of non-state actor research led to an in-depth and detailed understanding of day-to-day politics and policy processes in the EU, the recent emphasis in political and academic work on the EU’s legitimacy deficit has led to new puzzles for interest group research. One of the main questions is whether groups – both public and private – improve the democratic character of a political system or, on the contrary, hinder its development? The answers to this question have been manifold, depending on the definition attached to democracy (Finke 2007). The emergence of this debate is due to a number of factors, including the transformation of the European nation-state, the partial decline of electoral and party politics and the fact that policy networks and negotiation systems appear to be taking on more importance than hierarchically-structured governmental processes (Beyers et al. 2008b: 1104). Any analytical approach in this field requires an understanding of the link between citizens and groups. It is important to grasp how this link frames the relationship between non-state actors and European institutions, and impacts the influence they have in democratic decision-making procedures (Saurugger 2010).
