Domestic Structures and European Integration. A multi-stage two-level analysis of constitution building in the European Union
Referendums and Ratification
 
  funded through the Third Call for proposals of the Key Action 'Improving the Socio-economic Knowledge' of the European Union (Project leader Thomas K”nig, University of Konstanz, Germany), Swiss part funded by the Swiss Federal Office for Education and Science and the Forschungsfonds of the University of St. Gallen.

Simon Hug

May 12, 2008

This project will study constitution-building in the European Union using a multi-stage two-level-analysis of the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) to be concluded in 2006. We wish to answer two main questions: How is the process of constitution-building carried out? How can we explain the outcome of this process? Our project will relax assumptions on unitary member-state preferences and one-shot processes of constitution-building. We will examine the preparatory stage of inter-ministerial coordination, the negotiation stage at the IGC, and ratification in member states. We expect that the more non-unitary a member state government is, the more likely is an IGC agreement. However, we expect that when more alternatives for an agreement exist, their successful ratification is more endangered. Using a multi-pronged data gathering strategy, we will test these hypotheses and assess the two-level character of inter-ministerial coordination, IGC negotiations and domestic ratification.

This project explores constitution-building in the EU using a multi-stage two-level-analysis. We expect inferences between the domestic and European level during all stages because the constitution intends to clarify the competencies between both levels. The constitutional convent will make a proposal to be discussed in the member states, and we will examine how member states form their positions in inter-ministerial coordination. This analysis will indicate the degree of member-state unitariness at the IGC, and we will ask whether the degree of unitariness explains their negotiation performance and outcome capacity. We expect that non-unitariness makes reaching outcomes more likely, but ratification more difficult because neither parties nor citizens support outcomes which diverge from their initial positions.

Even though our topic provides support for the multi-stage two-level character of the process, it is an ambitious empirical concern to measure the preferences of all the actors involved. We attempt to test our hypotheses using multi-pronged data gathering strategy. For the preparatory stage, we will gather data by expert interviews in the member states. For the negotiation stage, we will use an internet survey, and for the ratification stage, we will use Eurobarometer and party manifesto data to estimate party positions and populations' attitudes. Our envisaged steps are:

i) identification of domestic procedures for inter-ministerial coordination and ratification,

ii) identification of issues discussed at the IGC,

iii) development of questionnaire for interviews and the internet site,

iv) expert interviews within member states and with the Commission and the EP,

v) internet survey of negotiating actors during/shortly after the IGC,

vi) use party manifesto and Eurobarometer data to estimate domestic constraints,

vii) methodological evaluation of the instruments and data,

viii) examine competing approaches on constitution-building.

1  Publications

Hug, Simon and Thomas König, eds.Domestic structures and constitution-building in an international organization. (special issue of the Review of International Organizations (2007) 2(2).

König , Thomas and Simon HugPolicy-making Processes and the European Constitution: A Comparative Study of Member States and Accession Countries . (2006). London: Routledge..

Hug, Simon and Thomas König Domestic Structures and Constitution-Building in an International Organization: Introduction Review of International Organizations (2007) 2(2) 105-113.

Hug, Simon and Tobias Schulz) Referendums in the EU's Constitution Building Process Review of International Organizations (2007) 2(2) 177-218.

Hug, Simon The Strategic Context of Referendums on the EU Constitution. in Claes H. de Vreese (ed.) Referendum Campaigns 2007, Palgrave.

Hug, Simon and Tobias Schulz Referendums in the EU's Constitution Building Process. in Wilfried Marxer and Zoltán Tibor Pállinger and Bruno Kaufmann and Theo Schiller (eds.) Direct Democracy in Europe - Current Position and Research Prospects for the 21st Century 2007. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag, 174-188.

Hug, Simon and Thomas König Divided Government and the Ratification of the Amsterday Treaty" in Robert Pahre (ed.) Democratic Foreign Policy Making: Problems of Divided Government and International Cooperation 2006. Palgrave, 133-150.

König, Thomas and Simon Hug Introduction in König, Thomas and Simon Hug (eds.) Policy-making Processes and the European Constitution: A Comparative Study of Member States and Accession Countries . (2006). London: Routledge.

Hug, Simon and Thomas König Conclusion in König, Thomas and Simon Hug (eds.) Policy-making Processes and the European Constitution: A Comparative Study of Member States and Accession Countries . (2006). London: Routledge. pp. 260-278.

Hug, Simon Möglichkeiten und Grenzen der direkten Demokratie in der EU. in Cheneval, Francis (ed.) Legitimationsgrundlagen der Europäischen Union (2005). Berlin: Lit Verlag. pp. 411-431.

Hug, Simon Gescheiterte Referenden, Gescheiterte Ratifikation? - Wege Aus der Krise. Welttrends (2007) 2 53-61.

2  Work in Progress

Hug, Simon Models of Multilateral Negotiations and Ratification Paper prepared for presentation at the ECPR General conference September 8-10, 2005 Budapest

Hug, Simon Multilateral bargaining at the 2004 IGC: An empirical assessment Paper prepared for presentation at the ECPR General Conference Pisa, September 6-8, 2007