Generosity in intergovernmental negotiations
The impact of state power, pooling and socialisation in the C ouncil of the E uropean U nion
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 7286145 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Daniel Naurin (0000-0003-0456-8771, Department of Political Science University of Gothenburg Sweden, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2015 |
| Volume | 54 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 726-744 |
| Publication date | 2015-07-14 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | European Journal of Political Research (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0304-4130 • E-ISSN: 1475-6765 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/1475-6765.12104 |
| OpenAlex | W1523746507 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 21 |
| References cited | 33 |
Scholars have long emphasised the consensual nature of the intergovernmental negotiations in the C ouncil of the E uropean U nion. Unlike other international organisations, where surface consensus has been found to be merely a cover for the dominance of powerful states, the EU literature describes a norm of generosity that works as a real constraining factor. In contrast, this article warns against descriptions of the EU as different in kind. Based on interviews with 231 EU M ember S tate representatives involved in day‐to‐day negotiations in the C ouncil, it finds a strong bias in generosity on behalf of the three dominant powers: F rance, G ermany and the U nited K ingdom. The ‘Big 3’ are strikingly unwilling to make generous concessions, compared to other states. Furthermore, from a rational perspective, there are good reasons for expecting this pattern. The study also shows that extensive pooling of power in the form of qualified majority rule and hard law commitment is associated with less generosity, while there seems to be no socialising effect towards generosity from exposure to the ‘Brussels community’. These findings cast a new light on the common narrative of the EU as a ‘soft‐bargaining’ anomaly among international organisations, where national interests are upgraded into common interests by a process of norm socialisation. Instead, it seems that the purported ‘consensus norm’ has been far from successful in transcending fundamental power asymmetries between the EU M ember States
Dominance (genetics · Generosity · Hypocrisy · Law and economics · Negotiation · Norm (philosophy · Political science · Pooling · Power (physics · Sociology · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · European Union Policy and Governance · Law · Political Systems and Governance
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| Unique citing works | 21 |
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| Citations per year | 2,33 |
| Citation span | 2017 - 2026 (10) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 21 |