In field operations there are three sorts of armies. One has ardour and discipline, the second ardour but no discipline and the third neither ardour nor discipline. The most important is discipline, as this stimulates ardour and finally victory. What are the implications of this view of Machiavelli in his Discorsi (book III-36) for the PA fieldwork in EU?

I Lobbying: The Final Link

In chapter 1-IX, we referred to lobbying as an old effort to influence decision- makers by visiting some place (lobby, antechamber) belonging to them, or by ‘corridor behaviour’. We defined this behaviour technically as ‘the build-up of unorthodox efforts to obtain information and support regarding a game of interest in order to get a desired outcome from a power-holder’. The element of ‘unorthodoxy’ we characterized generally as indirect, informal, silent and charming behaviour. Modern insights from PAM tell that even such a visit to a power-holder, called officials and stakeholders today, requires a lot of study and prudence, although similar insights can be taken from, for example, Sun Tzu and Machiavelli. In the previous chapters we applied this sense of disciplined creativity to the EU playing-field, the routes and navigations to it, the preparatory homework and the management of the home front. The three main lessons from these chapters can be summarized as: countless factors determine success or failure; many of them are manageable to some degree; and this management requires much study and prudence. The third lesson is necessary but not sufficient for making the strategic, tactical and technical choices so that one is a professional rather than an amateur, intelligent rather than nonchalant and a winner rather than a loser.

After the last chapter on strategy we focus here on the tactical and technical choices that have to be made for the activities on the playing-field, called corridor lobbying in the past and, more broadly, fieldwork now [McGrath, 2005-A]. The tactical choices, anticipated in chapter 4-IX, we continue here in combination with the technical ones, because any ambitious effort to influence whatever power-holder (public official or private stakeholder) requires one overall approach that integrates strategy, tactics and techniques. Their intended effects must come together in the activities on the playing-field.