Lobbing i teoretyczne modele komunikacji politycznej

Abstrakt

The article highlights the importance of lobbying in conditions of modern Ukraine. The objective necessity of its existence in the society is shown. In conditions, when the state cannot sufficiently satisfy the interests of various social strata, layers and groups, this role is taken over by lobbying. The growth of its role in the society changes the vector pf democracy transformation form civic representation to representation of interests of social groups.

The article determines that today lobbying is one of the key mechanisms of development and political decisionmaking; it is a considerable and efficient force, which influences the state authorities and institutions. The efficiency of lobbying depends on the level of its actual implementation. The article reveals that the phenomenon of lobbying is in a fact a communicative phenomenon as lobbyists and government representatives use various communicative resources. The author interprets the term of “political communication” as the process of transfer, exchange of political information, which shapes the political activity and gives it a new sense, forms public opinion and is part of political socialization of the citizens with the consideration of their needs and interests. It is emphasized that today communication plays the role of the main resource of the authorities. All the resources are influenced by communication. Any message, any information exchange implies some form of resources exchange.

The author analyses various models of political communication described by H. Lasswell, M. DeFleur, J. Bordewijk, B. van Kaam, J.-M. Cotteret. Is has been determined, that of all the existing communication models, there was no model designed specifically for the analysis of communication lobbying. The presented models of political communication may describe the lobbyist contact as a process, but they all are narrowed to transfer of information, significant for political system functioning. It has been emphasized that contemporary communication theories transfer of information is crystalized into the so-called transmission model of communication. This model remains basic for the formation of understanding the nature of political communication.

The study determines that in the context of the research, J.-M. Cotteret’s model is the most appropriate way to determine the peculiarities of lobbying in the Ukrainian society. It most accurately corresponds to the realities of Ukraine, which is sometimes called “oligarch economy”. This is a particular form of structural connection between the oligarch layer of the society and its economy (also through lobbying the economic interests of oligarchs). The specifics of the Ukrainian lobbying model lies in the fact that there is a total economic dependency of party circles, which may be seen both at the nation and local levels.

It is emphasized that the key feeding source of oligarchy is parasitizing on the economic body of the state. That is why Ukrainian oligarchy received the name of “carnival-parasitizing”. And, unfortunately, corruption remains the main interaction mechanism between the power and the big business.

The author determines the current problems of the lobbying process in Ukraine. Firstly, the national legislation has no clear definition of such terms as “corruption” and “lobbying” as a form of interaction between the authorities and the interested party. The issue of lobby legalization still remains an important issue as well as the necessity of establishment of legal and lobbying principles to ensure the legitimacy of its functioning. It has been suggested to develop the methodology of carrying out the political and legal expert evaluation of draft projects and to adopt it in the form of a legal act. The necessity of ensuring the transparency of the lobbying process improving the order of drafting and deliberation of legislation at the plenary sessions of the Ukrainian parliament are emphasized.