Networks of Influence: A Social Network Analysis of Interest Group Politics in the European Union

This dissertation investigates how social network analysis can advance our understanding of interest group politics in the European Union. While existing scholarship has extensively examined the resources, strategies, and institutional access of interest groups, less attention has been paid to the relational dimensions of lobbying, specifically, how inter-organizational ties, network positions, and structural patterns shape political influence in EU policymaking. Structured around three standalone but interrelated articles, the dissertation combines conceptual innovation with empirical analysis. The first article provides a critical review of the theoretical contributions and methodological challenges of applying SNA to interest group research, identifying key advantages such as capturing coalition dynamics, mapping influence structures, and enabling comparative analysis across policy areas. The second article examines how an interest group’s network position affects its influence, defined as preference attainment, in the context of the 2020 public consultation on the reform of the EU Emissions Trading System. Using logistic regression models, it shows that groups occupying central positions, measured by degree and betweenness centrality, are more likely to shape policy outcomes in line with their stated preferences. The third article explores the structural determinants of tie formation among interest groups, employing Exponential Random Graph Models across six policy issues. The findings reveal that shared policy goals, national embeddedness, organizational type, insider status, and issue diversity significantly shape coalition patterns and network structures. Together, the articles demonstrate that SNA offers powerful tools to capture the complexity of interest group behaviour in multilevel governance settings. By integrating relational data into the study of lobbying, this dissertation contributes to ongoing debates about influence, representation, and coalition-building in EU policy processes.