Die kognitive Dimension des Lobbyismus

In the EU, not only do lobbyists convey their particular interests to political decision-makers, but these decision-makers also inquire about interests to justify their initiatives. From a constructivist perspective, policy-making resembles a competition for interpretative authority over a societal issue. The actors rely on each other for the subjective perception of problems and for justifying policy initiatives. The cognitive frameworks of political discourse can be described as policy frames. Using a framing approach, it becomes evident that the influence opportunities of lobbyists also depend on the necessity to justify policy initiatives at the EU level. The example of EU technology policy illustrates that while the Commission can gain interpretative authority through policy frames, it is always dependent on the interdependent communication process of interest representation in the respective policy area.