How International Organizations Regulate Lobbyist Access

This chapter explores how international organizations (IOs) regulate lobbyist access through participation frameworks rather than traditional lobbying laws. While no unified international lobbying regime exists, IOs use rules on NGO 'consultation' and 'engagement' to structure access. These rules, rooted in historical practices like the UN's Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) accreditation system, prioritize representativeness and legitimacy over transparency and accountability. As lobbying increasingly targets international forums, concerns about undue influence (the 'lobbying critique') and insufficient stakeholder inclusion (the 'access critique') have driven divergent reforms: some IOs, like the World Health Organization, have adopted stricter controls; others, such as the GAVI Alliance and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, offer more direct stakeholder participation. These evolving models raise questions about legitimacy, transparency, and the future of global governance. The chapter argues for deeper theorization of lobbying's role in IOs and recommends developing access regimes that balance openness with safeguards, reduce fragmentation, and address informal influence in hybrid public-private governance structures.