Law Commons^™

The Political Economy Of Corporate Exit, Susan S. Kuo, Benjamin Means

Vanderbilt Law Review

Critics contend that corporations subvert democracy by using their economic resources to lobby for corporate-friendly policies and to elect accommodating politicians.' Those who take a more sanguine view-notably, a majority of the Supreme Court-reject the claim that corporate dollars corrupt the political process. Yet, there is general agreement that corporate political activity includes financial contributions, lobbying efforts, participation in trade groups, and political advertising, all of which give corporations a "voice" in public decisionmaking.

This Essay contends that the accepted definition of corporate political activity is too narrow and overlooks the importance of "exit." When faced with objectionable laws or …

Shining The Spotlight Of Pitiless Publicity On Foreign Lobbyists?, Charles Lawson

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This note discusses the changes made to the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) by the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (LDA) and evaluates the impact of those changes. FARA's regulatory regime has long been criticized for its loopholes. FARA's historical focus on foreign propagandists has also been condemned as out of step with the modern political environment in the United States, where foreign" lobbyists" are seen as a serious threat to government integrity. In response to such criticisms, the LDA endeavored to reform FARA so as to increase compliance levels among foreign lobbyists seeking to influence the U.S. political process. …