‘We punched above our weight’: assessing the influence of interest groups in Northern Ireland on the United Kingdom’s withdrawal negotiations from the European Union

This logic of legislative subsidy reveals an ideational perspective to the demand-side of interest group influence and challenges the prevailing rational choice and relational approaches. This influence was contingent on possessing favourable internal characteristics, the institutional context, and factors related to the issues under consideration. These initial findings are explored further in two in-depth case studies of the trade in goods and rights and equality protections.

The case studies reveal a difference in how interest groups and policymakers perceive affectedness on issues which may have tangible effects. <br><br>This thesis contributes to a deeper understanding of interest group influence in policymaking processes including multi-level negotiations. It adds to the literature on interest groups in Northern Ireland and in the UK’s process of withdrawal from the EU and how interest groups strategically exploit multi-level opportunity structures to project influence beyond their regional geographic scope.

The logic of legislative subsidy contributes an ideational rationale to the exchange theory of interest group influence and is shown to be applicable to the bureaucracy and executive in addition to the parliament. The findings of this thesis, uncovered through in-depth qualitative inquiry, provide a rich seam of future research in interest group studies. <br><br><i>Thesis is embargoed until 31 December 2029.</i>