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Contributions from
the Column
Books and Media
New challenges for development policies
Southern Africa:
not all liberators are democrats
Lobbying:
a guide for NGOs
Communication:
tips for intercultural understandin
New InWEnt website
01/2005 |
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Lobbying:a guide for NGOs
Felix Dodds, Michael Strauss:
How to Lobby at Intergovernmental Meetings.
London, Earthscan 2004,
170 pages, Pound 17.99, ISBN 1-84407-074-3
Guides such as “Rich and Famous in 1000 Days” should be taken with a grain of salt. The tips are generally banal or require too many preconditions to make rapid wealth and fame a possibility. The book by Dodds and Strauss may well come up against similar reservations. This would be unjustified. If you are not seeking a magic formula to save the world but rather, are looking for an informed, detailed and practical introduction to the universe of UN conferences, you will find this book very useful.
The authors have drawn on their intimate knowledge and observation of the series of large international conferences starting at the beginning of the 1990s to put together this concisely articulated guide for potential NGO participants. “Do not at any point sit in a government seat unless you have been asked to do so. Do not spend any more than 25 percent of your time at international conferences with your NGO colleagues; you have come to lobby, not to meet your colleagues. Get hold of photos of the delegates you absolutely want to talk to beforehand.” It is tips like these that make it easier for newcomers to find their way around and help to narrow the lead that experienced government lobbyists may have.
The advice is especially relevant for NGOs. Through their own experiences, Dodds and Strauss are familiar with the typical strengths and weaknesses of the activists. One of their core pieces of advice is therefore “stick to the essential points”. They criticise that their strong sense of self-belief causes many organisations to publish too much information. This has nothing to do with the reality of international negotiations. Concentrating on the essential points is vital, since the receptiveness of the delegates is limited to a few concisely structured messages.
Although some of the advice may seem trivial, the beauty of the book lies in its unpretentious approach, which takes the mystique out of successful lobbying. Thus, one of the most instructive passages of the book deals with the “world of brackets,” the mechanism with which contentious sections of the text are put in brackets. The difference outlined between “tactical or trading” brackets”, “waiting brackets” and “weary” brackets gives a highly instructive introduction to negotiation strategies. Numerous tables and checklists, an overview of UN conferences and UN commissions as well as an extensive list of addresses rounds off the wealth of information.
The high costs for NGOs who want to be part of the business of international negotiation are not the only indicator that such an almanac was long overdue. Dodds and Strauss had to experience first hand the meagre outcomes of the Johannesburg Summit in 2002 due to the NGO community disregarding too many of the fundamental rules of conduct in negotiations and of lobbying.
Carel Mohn
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