European Union Intergovernmental Conferences: Domestic Preference Formation, Transgovernmental Networks and the Dynamics of Compromise

ISBN-13: 9780415456609 / Angielski / Twarda / 2009 / 208 str.

Paul W. Thurner;Franz Urban Pappi

Opis

This book provides a detailed examination of the complex negotiation processes surrounding intergovernmental conferences in the European Union. Since the Treaty of Amsterdam (1997) and its 'appendix', the Treaty of Nice in 2002, any reform of the treaty framework of the European Union seems to be doomed to fail, evidenced by the decline of the Constitutional Treaty and by the current fate of the Lisbon treaty. By presenting an extensive quantitative study of the Intergovernmental Conference of 1996/7 prior to the Treaty of Amsterdam, the authors argue that these negotiations reveal the major challenges of European integration. Drawing on advanced statistical methods, they contend that multi-level negotiations require an appropriate coordination of informal administrative networks and the empowerment of administrative leadership, with these factors significantly shaping the dynamics and outcomes of negotiations. Through these findings, this book lays down the foundation for future evidence-based evaluations of negotiations and implementation studies, and delivers new insights on decision-making within the European Union. European Union Intergovernmental Conferences will be of interest to students and researchers of political science, sociology, administrative science, business and management studies, international law and European law.

The EU polity is a hybrid political form that enables us to study processes of institutional politics and of intentional and unintended constitution-building in the global sphere.

This book provides an empirical investigation of foreign policy decision-making in the EU-15. The authors examine collective decision-making within national governments and in intergovernmental negotiations during intergovernmental conferences. The book:

• Identifies the formal organizational design of foreign policy decision-making as well as the informal communication and coordination networks of the top officials.
• Demonstrates how to undertake quantitative case studies in the sub discipline of International Relations, i.e. to collect data on issues, interests, and institutions (formal as well as informal) and the distribution of information.
• Explains foreign policy decision-making and international negotiations in complex environments with semi-permeable governmental organizations.

This book will be of interest to students and researchers of political science, sociology, administrative science, business and management studies, international law and European law.

Spis treści

1. EU Intergovernmental Conferences  2. Theorizing EU Constitutionalization  3. Research Design: A Quantitative Case Study  4. The Agenda: Notes, Issues, and Issue Groups  5. The Domestic Game  6. Transgovernmental Networks in Semi-permeable Governments  7. Signals and Concessions  8. Conclusion 

O autorze

Paul W. Thurner, Franz Urban Pappi