Conceptualizing Notions of Power and Influence in the EU Legislative Process: Governmental Capacities and Strategies

Abstract

This chapter provides a conceptualization of governmental power and influence in EU legislative decision-making processes. It, therefore, focuses on the central theme of the book, i.e., governmental capacities and strategies in EU processes. This chapter is divided into four main sections. Section 3.2 follows on from Chap. 2 which drew attention to notions of power, influence, and governmental capacities of states in mainstream International Relations (IR) theory. Chapter 2 has, in fact, already provided a theoretical setting for the manner by which the study of small states developed—it presented a theoretical framework to explain the review of the evolution of small state literature in line with the three approaches of realism, liberalism, and constructivism (see Sect. 2.3). Section 3.2 continues this discussion further by clarifying key terms in relation to governmental ‘capacities’. It does this by focusing on two main strands of thought, i.e., pluralism and Marxism/capitalism. Work such as that by Lukes (2005) forms the backbone to this discussion. Section 3.3 then focuses on small state governmental ‘strategies’. It presents a typology of governmental strategies as tools to influence EU legislative negotiations. These strategies are returned to and examined empirically in the latter chapters of the book. Finally, Sect. 3.4 provides a conclusion.