The study day on April 14 and 15, 2026 at INALCO focuses on the transformations of interest groups and lobbying practices in post-socialist Central Europe, considering historical, political, economic, and cultural shifts. It highlights recent developments, such as Ukraine’s 2024 lobbying law aimed at fostering transparent engagement between private and public actors. The event brings together early-career social science researchers examining actors, networks, practices, and regulatory attempts in the region. It also debates the relevance of the term “lobbying” and its analytical value for understanding private influence in politics. Since the end of socialism, new non-state actors (businesses, associations, unions, religious groups) have transformed interactions between the private sector and political power. Contributions are expected to explore historical and institutional dynamics shaping influence relations, the ambiguous role of interest groups in democratic processes, and the transnational dimensions of lobbying in Central Europe. Discussions will address how these groups affect public decision-making, their effects on democratic institutions, and issues of transparency, conflicts of interest, and clientelism. Finally, the study day will examine the impact of European integration on influence practices in the region and the challenges of legally regulating lobbying across various Central and Eastern European countries.
Programm
Please register if you want to participate (videoconference or in presence) : https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSctHqYTBW3JI5mFrJyW6BiF0soGcz0jpCXpRUULPGzYoyWkpA/viewform
Tuesday april 14
Inalco - Maison de la Recherche
Auditorium Dumézil
2, rue de Lille - Paris 7e
9:20am – 9:40am: Welcome coffee
9:40am – 9:50am: Welcome address from partner institutions
9:50am – 10am: Introduction to the Study Days: Sarah Bomba, Jelena Jokic and Lucie Raskin
10am – 11am: Panel 1 – Axis 1: Understanding the Structural and Contextual Factors of Influence Activities Since the 1980s – Part 1
Chair: Anne Madelain
10am – 10:20am: Vit Simral: Imperial legacies and interest group formation in Central and Western Europe
10:20am – 10:40am: Szczepan Pawel Czarnecki: Who protests and why? Organisational and contextual drivers of interest group mobilization in Central Europe
0:40am – 10:55am: Questions and discussion with the audience
10:55am – 11:10am: Coffee break
11:10am – 12:05am : Panel 2 – Axis 1 – Part 2
Chair : Fabio Giomi
11:10am – 11:30am: Lucie Raskin: Researching interest groups as a historian: the case of Yugoslav organisations in the 1980s
11:30am – 11:50am: Michael Dobbins: Impressing De Tocqueville: Analysing interest group mobilization in Ukraine
11:50am – 12:05pm: Questions and discussion with the audience
12:10pm – 1:45pm: Lunch
1:45pm – 2:40pm: Panel 3 – Axis 2: The Impact of Interest Groups on the Economic Sphere: Networks at the Core of Institutional and Sectoral Transformations in Central Europe
Chair: Jean-Michel de Waele
1:45pm – 2:05pm: Magdalena Bernaciak & Aurora Trif: From social partners to lobby groups? Trade unions and employer associations in Central and Eastern Europe
2:05pm – 2:25pm: Rafal Riedel: Conflict of interest regarding the Europeanization of the legal framework for sustainable corporate governance
2:25pm – 2:40pm: Questions and discussion with the audience
2:40pm – 2:55pm: Coffee break
2:55pm – 3:50pm: Panel 4 – Axis 2 – Part 2
Chair: Nadège Ragaru
2:55pm – 3:15pm: Jelena Jokic: Innovation ecosystems as vehicles of economic diplomacy: The case of French Tech Belgrade in Franco-Serbian relations
3:15pm – 3:35pm: Nathan Hourcade: Influence in the Ukrainian energy sector: lobbying or oligarchy? (2010–2025)
3:35pm – 3:50pm: Questions and discussion with the audience
3:50pm – 4pm: Wrap-up of the first day
Wednesday april 15
Inalco - Maison de la Recherche
Salle de Sacy (2nd floor)
2, rue de Lille - Paris 7e
9am – 9:20am: Welcome coffee
9:20am – 10:25am: Panel 5 – Axis 3: Interest Groups and Democracy: An Ambivalent Relationship? – Part 1
Chair: Jana Vargovcikova
9:20am – 9:50am: Aneta Cekikj & Mika Ivanovska Hadjievska: Lobbying strategies in new democracies: Insights from a survey of interest groups in North Macedonia
9:50am – 10:10am: Aneta Pinkova: Regulation, transparency, and influence: Interest groups in Czech electoral politics
10:10am – 10:25am: Questions and discussion with the audience
10:25am – 10:40am: Coffee break
10:40am – 12am: Panel 6 – Axis 3 – Part 2
Chair: Katerina Kesa
10:40am – 11am: Urszula Kurczewska & Agnieszka Vetulani-Cegiel: Lobbying in times of political polarization and democratic backsliding: The case of Poland
11am – 11:20am: Sarah Bomba: title to be finalized
11:20am – 11:40am: Cristian Pîrvulescu: Interest Groups and Populism in Central Europe: A Neo-Institutional Reading Based on the Romanian Case
11:40am – 12am: Questions and discussion with the audience
12am – 12:15pm: Concluding remarks
Partners:
Inalco / CREE (Centre de recherche Europes-Eurasie) / Ecole Doctorale de l'Inalco
Académie Polonaise des Sciences – Centre Scientifique à Paris
Université libre de Bruxelles
Scientific Committee:
Jean-Louis Briquet (CNRS, CESSP)
Anne Madelain (Inalco, CREE)
Nadège Ragaru (Sciences Po, CERI)
Jana Vargovčíková (Inalco, CREE)
Jean-Michel De Waele (Université libre de Bruxelles, Cevipol)
Organising committee:
Sarah Bomba (CREE, Inalco)
Jelena Jokic (CREE, Inalco)
Lucie Raskin (CREE, Inalco)