Abstract

This essay examines the legal nature of pressure groups and the ways in which the legal systems of modern democracies have regulated the lobbying phenomenon. Starting from the observation that pressure groups have now replaced traditional political parties in their ability to formulate political direction, thereby affecting the very nature of the form of government, the analysis examines the different legal institutions regulating lobbying starting from 3 distinct normative models. The essay then turns to the Italian case, highlighting the reasons for the lack of regulation and the impact of this on the institutional and political system. In conclusion, based on the comparative experiences, some hypotheses are formulated for regulatory solutions that could be adopted in Italy to bring the lobbying relationship out of its current state of obscurity.