ABSTRACT
This chapter sets out the changing scenario of advocacy in the modern European Union. Lobbying and advocacy are often considered to be similar, interchangeable words. The chapter reflects on the new possibilities brought to us by Web 2.0 in the advocacy 3.0 paradigm. It gives thought as to whether these technological revolutions would have led to this new paradigm if not for the efforts taken at the same time to increase the democratic legitimacy of the European Union (EU) and its institutions, and reviews how these changes have affected citizen participation in EU decision making. It looks at the meaning of these changes for public affairs practitioners more generally. The tactics of the pro Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement camp can in part be explained by the reluctance of the business community to be associated with unpopular issues but also undoubtedly reflects their underestimation of the impact of this new advocacy paradigm.
