Beyond Access and Influence: The Evolving Roles and Strategies of Interest Groups in Environmental Governance

Interest group research has long been dominated by established frameworks that emphasize decision-making phases, direct and indirect strategies, and the pursuit of access to policymakers to influence public policies. However, these traditional approaches often overlook the evolving dynamics of interest groups’ roles and strategies in the face of new challenges and contexts. Moreover, the literature has disproportionately focused on private interest groups, the measurement of influence or the European Union context, highlighting the need for fresh perspectives and expanded inquiry. This paper seeks to address these gaps by proposing three different arguments to advance the debate: 1. Public Interest groups are active throughout the entire public policy cycle, tailoring their strategies to the distinct demands of each stage, from agenda-setting to evaluation. 2. The traditional insider-outsider dichotomy is increasingly less relevant, as public and private interest groups now could have access to comparable resources to adopt either approach. The decisive factor lies in the intent behind their strategies—whether supportive or oppositional. 3. Interest groups are not merely peripheral actors but can function as regulatory intermediaries, shaping policy implementation and serving as conduits between policymakers and broader societal interests. These propositions are explored through a qualitative comparative case study of two public interest groups in Switzerland and Australia, focusing on their engagement in environmental public policies. Combining traditional data analysis (documents and interviews) with media analysis (social media and newspapers), the study uses process tracing to capture how these groups benefit from institutional, legal, and economic opportunity structures to adapt their strategies across the policy cycle and, under certain conditions, act as intermediaries to facilitate policymaking.