National Administrations in EU Trade Policy: Maintaining the Capacity to Control (European Administrative Governance)

This Book Studies The Relationship Between Administrative Capacity And A Member State's Influence In The European Union. More Specifically, It Studies Member States' Ability To Exert Control Over The European Commission During Trade Negotiations. But What Determines Administrative Capacity And How Do Member States Ensure Their Preferences Are Defended During Trade Negotiations? A Combination Of Qualitative Fieldwork And Survey-analysis Provides The Answer. Interviews In Belgium, Poland, Estonia And Spain Offer A Privileged Insight Into The Functioning Of National Trade Administrations And Its Effects On Their Behaviour In The Council Of Ministers. Through Survey Data, These Findings Are Further Corroborated. The Book Is Aimed At A Readership Interested In Eu Decision-making, Negotiation Theory, Comparative Public Administration And The International Political Economy Of Trade. Machine Generated Contents Note: 1. Introduction -- The Literature -- Principal-agent Model -- Comparative Public Administration: National Administrations In Eu Policies -- Negotiation Theory: Capabilities And Negotiation Activity -- The Argument -- The Research Design -- The Structure Of The Book -- References -- 2. Member States In European Trade Negotiations -- The Legal Framework -- Autonomous Trade Policy -- International Negotiations -- The Administrative Framework -- Participating In The Council -- Alternative Paths To Influence -- Role Of The European Parliament -- Conclusions -- References -- 3. Theoretical Framework -- Twenty-eight Principals Or A Single Collective? -- Agency Slack -- Agency Costs: Control -- Multiple And Collective Principals -- From Collective Control To Control As Signalling -- Administrative Capacity And Information Asymmetry -- Defining Administrative Capacity -- Administrative Capacity And Control -- The Main Hypothesis -- Concluding Reflections -- References -- 4. Signalling Control -- Signalling Behaviour -- Exerting Control As Part Of A Hybrid Principal -- Signalling From A Dynamic Perspective -- Data Collection -- Data Analysis -- Constructing A Signalling Index -- Selecting A Strategy -- Signalling Across The Phases Of The Negotiation -- Concluding Remarks -- References -- 5. Exploring National Trade Administrations -- Towards A Comparative Approach In Studying Trade Administrations -- Topic 1 Involvement Of Different Public Actors -- Topic 2 Coordination Mechanisms -- Topic 3 Human Resources -- Topic 4 Relation State-society -- Research Design -- Results Of The Pilot Studies -- Spain -- Belgium -- Estonia -- Poland -- Summarising The Exploratory Case-study Analysis -- Conclusions -- References -- 6. Measuring Administrative Capacity -- Mapping The Trade Administration As A Policy Network -- Operationalising Administrative Capacity -- Monitoring Capacity -- Deriving Capacity -- Formulating Propositions -- Data Collection -- Data Analysis -- Monitoring Capacity -- Deriving Capacity -- Testing The Propositions -- Summarising The Findings -- References -- 7. Administrative Capacity And Control -- Substantiating The Hypotheses -- Administrative Capacity And Control -- Administrative Capacity And The Stage Of Control -- Administrative Capacity And Strategies -- Data Analysis -- Administrative Capacity And Control -- Administrative Capacity And The Stage Of Control -- Administrative Capacity And Strategies -- Conclusion -- References -- 8. Conclusion: A Matter Of Principals -- Theoretical Contribution -- Empirical Contribution -- Qualitative Findings -- Quantitative Findings -- Normative Implications -- Expanding The Research -- Expanding The Scope -- Refining The Design -- In Summary -- References. Johan Adriaensen. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. "Dedication"--"Acknowledgments"--"Contents" -- "List of Figures " -- "List of Tables" -- "Chapter 1: Introduction" -- " The Literature" -- " Principal-Agent Model" -- " Comparative Public Administration: National Administrations in EU Policies" -- " Negotiation Theory: Capabilities and Negotiation Activity" -- " The Argument" -- " The Research Design" -- " The Structure of the Book" -- "References" -- "Chapter 2: Member States in European Trade Negotiations" -- " The Legal Framework" -- " Autonomous Trade Policy" -- " International Negotiations" -- " The Administrative Framework" -- " Participating in the Council" -- " Alternative Paths to Influence" -- " Role of the European Parliament" -- " Conclusions" -- "References" -- "Chapter 3: Theoretical Framework" -- " Twenty-Eight Principals or a Single Collective?" -- "Agency Slack" -- " Agency Costs: Control" -- "Multiple and Collective Principals" -- " From Collective Control to Control as Signalling" -- " Administrative Capacity and Information Asymmetry" -- " Defining Administrative Capacity" -- "Administrative Capacity and Control" -- " The Main Hypothesis" -- " Concluding Reflections" -- "References" -- "Chapter 4: Signalling Control" -- " Signalling Behaviour" -- " Exerting Control as Part of a Hybrid Principal" -- " Signalling from a Dynamic Perspective" -- " Data Collection" -- " Data Analysis" -- " Constructing a Signalling Index" -- " Selecting a Strategy" -- " Signalling Across the Phases of the Negotiation" -- " Concluding Remarks" -- "References" -- "Chapter 5: Exploring National Trade Administrations" -- " Towards a Comparative Approach in Studying Trade Administrations" -- " Topic 1: Involvement of Different Public Actors" -- " Topic 2: Coordination Mechanisms" -- " Topic 3: Human Resources" -- " Topic 4: Relation State-Society" -- " Research Design." This book studies the relationship between administrative capacity and a member state's influence in the European Union. More specifically, it studies member states' ability to exert control over the European Commission during trade negotiations. But what determines administrative capacity and how do member states ensure their preferences are defended during trade negotiations? A combination of qualitative fieldwork and survey-analysis provides the answer. Interviews in Belgium, Poland, Estonia and Spain offer a privileged insight into the functioning of national trade administrations and its effects on their behavior in the Council of Ministers. Through survey data, these findings are further corroborated. The book is aimed at a readership interested in EU decision-making, negotiation theory, comparative public administration and the international political economy of trade. Johan Adriaensen is a research coordinator at the Center for European Research in Maastricht (CERiM) at Maastricht University, the Netherlands. He has been a guest professor at the Universities of Antwerp and Leuven in Belgium. His research interests encompass international political economy, the institutions of the European Union and scholarship on teaching and learning Front Matter....Pages i-xv Introduction....Pages 1-17 Member States in European Trade Negotiations....Pages 19-36 Theoretical Framework....Pages 37-62 Signalling Control....Pages 63-85 Exploring National Trade Administrations....Pages 87-115 Measuring Administrative Capacity....Pages 117-146 Administrative Capacity and Control....Pages 147-165 Conclusion: A Matter of Principals....Pages 167-185 Back Matter....Pages 187-198