Pandemic policies have been the focus of fierce lobbying competition by different social and
economic interests. In Viral Lobbying a team of expert authors from across the social and
natural sciences analyse patterns in and implications of this 'viral lobbying'. Based on elite
surveys and focus group interviews with selected groups the book provides new evidence on the
lobbying strategies used during the COVID 19 pandemic as well as the resulting access to and
lobbying influence on public policy. The empirical analyses reach across eight European
countries (Austria Denmark Germany Ireland Italy the Netherlands Sweden United Kingdom)
as well as the EU-level. In particular the book draws on responses from approximately 1 600
interest organisations in two waves of a cross-country survey (in 2020 and 2021 respectively).
This quantitative data is supplemented by qualitative evidence from a series of 12 focus groups
with organised interests in Ireland Denmark and the Netherlands conducted in spring 2021.
