This article was written by Adam Tiffen, a member of the Truman National Security Project’s Defense Council in the U.S. who  currently works in sustainable development. Views expressed are his own. Article has been edited.

"To support its booming economic growth, China’s demand for natural resources has become insatiable. In exchange for locking up access to natural resources, China has authorized billions of dollars in loans to African governments. With an increasing number of these governments beholden to China, a new imperial empire is taking shape in Africa.

GR Practitioners are expected to increase and refine their practice knowledge and skills throughout their professional careers through self-study, review of practice outcomes, ongoing education, supervision and/or consultation as appropriate. It is GR Practitioners’ personal responsibility to determine the content and course of Continuing Education (CE). It is a threefold responsibility to clients, to self, and to the profession. This responsibility can be demonstrated by

Government Relations (GR) is the process of influencing public and government policy at all levels: Local, Regional, National, European, Global. It involves the advocacy of an interest that is affected, actually or potentially, by the decisions of government leaders.

At its core, GR is an educational process mixed in with a liberal amount of advocacy.

AALEP is dedicated to

a. to promote and protect the public interest by governing and regulating the practice of GR professionals members of the Association including

During the sixth round of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership negotiations, the Directorate General for Trade of the European Commission organized a Stakeholder Event on 16 July 2014. At that time, stakeholders were given an opportunity to explain their views to EU and US negotiators as well as to other interested stakeholders, in particular:

As of 29 July 2014, here below is the State of Play of T-TIP negotiations after the 6th round:

1. Market Access

1.1. Trade in Goods: Both sides are working on the basis of a consolidated text with a view to progressively reducing divergences. In addition, on agriculture, the Parties have discussed the possibility of developing specific provisions relating to agricultural trade, wine and have exchanged views on non-tariff issues.

At its best, lobbying provides critical services to organizations and clients and critical client information to public office holders.

Back in 2012, the TI-Liaison Office to the EU and TI-Secretariat published a  Regional Policy Paper that was part of a series published in the framework of TI’s European National Integrity Systems study conducted in 25 European countries with financial support from the Prevention of and Fight against Crime Programme of the European Commission Directorate-General for Home Affairs, Norway Grants/EEA Grant and Svenska PostkodStiftelsen.  

The new Australian Economic Diplomacy agenda is based on four key principles:

1. Promoting trade - Australia’s ambitious trade liberalisation agenda aims to open up new markets and opportunities for businesses. The Australian Government is seeking to work with key regional partners to develop a stable and transparent framework for global trade.

There are three ways to acquire knowledge in the field of Government Relations: College, On-the-Job and through Continuing Education. Keys areas of the GR practice include: Direct Lobbying, Grassroots, Fundraising and Effective Money Management, Communications, Issue Management, Resource Management and Relationship Building (Legislative, Regulatory and Coalitions). Each area of the GR practice considers the following aspects: A. Legal/Regulatory/Ethical Aspects, B. Advocacy/Communication/Persuasion Aspects, C. Process/Trade Craft/Research Aspects and D.