The West needs to deal with the Russia that is, not the Russia it might wish for. The best thing that the West can do to promote liberty, the rule of law and good neighbourliness in Russia is to stick to its own standards. Today Russia's elite includes top officers of security services and the armed forces, the industrial military complex, state company leaders and a part of the business class.  They are a mix of statists, imperialists and nationalists. They support a future that is rooted in the imperial past and Christian orthodoxy.

AALEP structural development reflects other work the association is doing and as the association grows and changes, it is necessary to think about its structure. As an organization with long-term goals of expansion, AALEP needed more concrete and clearer divisional responsibilities and authority hence the launch of 5 distinct Divisions:

The Public Policy Advocacy landscape does not just include 'lobbyists' (interest representatives) as meaning parties paid to have a direct personal communication with government officials with the objective to influence policies and decision-making processes.

The reality is that today the public policy advocacy process has become much more sophisticated and often involves large teams of individuals and organizations with various specialties e.g. from lobbying to advocacy strategizing to grassroots management to monitoring and analysis of regulatory and legislative issues.

An organizational structure consists of activities such as task allocation, coordination and supervision, which are directed towards the achievement of organizational aims. It can also be considered as the viewing glass or perspective through which individuals both inside and outside see the organization and its environment. The structure of an organization determines the modes in which it operates and performs. It  allows the allocation of responsibilities for different functions and processes to different Divisions.

AALEP has created a new Division called Strategic Alliances and Partnerships to give even more thrust to its international outreach and forge new relations. The mission of the Strategic Alliances and Partnerships Division will be to align AALEP in unique and rewarding partnerships with country and/or regional associations of public affairs, communications consultants, lobbyists sharing the vision and goals of AALEP.

AALEP has already concluded a number of protocols of co-operation with many associations throughout the world (see links).

AALEP which has developed extensive programmes in Public Policy Advocacy and already provides a very comphensive Executive Certificate in Public Policy Advocacy is now launching its own Academy of Public Policy Advocacy (APPA) to combine all its educational and training resources and services under one roof.

The Act on Legislative and Regulatory Lobbying was passed by the Parliament in July 2005 and came into force on 7 March 2006. The Act describes the principles of conducting lobbying activities. “Lobbying activities” consist of actions conducted by legally admissible methods that seek to influence public authorities in the law-making process. Lobbying activities aim to ensure that the arguments and interests of social and professional groups are taken into account in the decisions of public officials.

Policy advocacy refers to advocacy tactics, strategies and initiatives which target changes to policies and legislation. These advocacy initiatives seek to establish new policies, improve existing policies or challenge the development of policies. Policy advocacy usually seeks to engage various sectors of the government which includes: public servants, bureaucrats, political appointees, elected officials and legislators. As can be seen here below most of what is involved in public policy work has more to do with education rather than the act of influencing legislation.

The EU Transparency Register is designed as a “one stop shop” for interest representatives seeking to influence EU policy-making. It currently lists around 5 700 organisations based mainly in Brussels. They range across a wide variety of categories, from consultancies and law firms to NGOs and academic organisations, think tanks and religious entities. The register is run by the joint (EP/Commission) Transparency Register Secretariat (JTRS), which is subordinate to the Secretaries-General of both institutions.

The Confederation of the British Industry (CBI) speak for more than 240,000 companies of every size. The regional structure of the CBI is a legacy of its formation but is also common among other business lobby groups including the British Chamber of Commerce . Members are represented geographically through 12 regional councils which include Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.