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Between Power and Luck

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  • Torsten J. Selck
  • Bernard Steunenberg

Abstract

Taking Barry’s (1980a,b) question ‘Is it better to be powerful or lucky?’ as a starting point, we try to answer the question of how influential the European Parliament is in the European Union (EU) legislative process. We assess the proximity between what the Parliament wants and what it eventually gets and whether this is the result of its own power or the similarity between its position and the positions of other EU actors. The empirical analysis uses different models of legislative decision-making and shows that the European Parliament has been rather influential under co-decision and it has been ‘lucky’ for most legislation negotiated under the consultation procedure. Differentiating between capabilities and preferences, and therefore between ‘power’ and ‘luck’, remains crucial in explaining political outcomes.

Suggested Citation

  • Torsten J. Selck & Bernard Steunenberg, 2004. "Between Power and Luck," European Union Politics, , vol. 5(1), pages 25-46, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:eeupol:v:5:y:2004:i:1:p:25-46
    DOI: 10.1177/1465116504040444
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Frank M. Häge, 2007. "Committee Decision-making in the Council of the European Union," European Union Politics, , vol. 8(3), pages 299-328, September.
    2. Jonathan B Slapin, 2014. "Measurement, model testing, and legislative influence in the European Union," European Union Politics, , vol. 15(1), pages 24-42, March.
    3. Christophe Crombez & Pieterjan Vangerven, 2014. "Procedural models of European Union politics: Contributions and suggestions for improvement," European Union Politics, , vol. 15(2), pages 289-308, June.
    4. Diego Varela, 2009. "Just a Lobbyist?," European Union Politics, , vol. 10(1), pages 7-34, March.
    5. Pierpaolo Settembri & Christine Neuhold, 2009. "Achieving Consensus Through Committees: Does the European Parliament Manage?," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(1), pages 127-151, January.
    6. Heike Klüver, 2011. "The contextual nature of lobbying: Explaining lobbying success in the European Union," European Union Politics, , vol. 12(4), pages 483-506, December.
    7. Andreas Warntjen, 2008. "The Council Presidency," European Union Politics, , vol. 9(3), pages 315-338, September.
    8. Gerald Schneider & Daniel Finke & Stefanie Bailer, 2010. "Bargaining Power in the European Union: An Evaluation of Competing Game‐Theoretic Models," Political Studies, Political Studies Association, vol. 58(1), pages 85-103, February.
    9. Badinger, Harald & Mühlböck, Monika & Nindl, Elisabeth & Reuter, Wolf Heinrich, 2014. "Theoretical vs. empirical power indices: Do preferences matter?," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 158-176.
    10. Kovacs, Attila, 2014. "The Role Of The European Parliament In The Legislation Of The Common Agricultural Policy," 142nd Seminar, May 29-30, 2014, Budapest, Hungary 169396, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    11. Christina Zimmer & Gerald Schneider & Michael Dobbins, 2005. "The Contested Council: Conflict Dimensions of an Intergovernmental EU Institution," Political Studies, Political Studies Association, vol. 53(2), pages 403-422, June.
    12. Buket Oztas & Amie Kreppel, 2022. "Power or Luck? The Limitations of the European Commission's Agenda Setting Power and Autonomous Policy Influence," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(2), pages 408-426, March.
    13. Bernard Steunenberg, 2006. "Turning Swift Policy-making into Deadlock and Delay," European Union Politics, , vol. 7(3), pages 293-319, September.
    14. Biesenbender, Jan, 2011. "The Dynamics of Treaty Change – Measuring the Distribution of Power in the European Union," European Integration online Papers (EIoP), European Community Studies Association Austria (ECSA-A), vol. 15, October.
    15. Bjørn Høyland & Vibeke Wøien Hansen, 2014. "Issue-specific policy-positions and voting in the Council," European Union Politics, , vol. 15(1), pages 59-81, March.
    16. Madeleine O. Hosli & M. C. J. Uriot, 2011. "Dimensions of Political Contestation: Voting in the Council of the European Union before the 2004 Enlargement," Czech Economic Review, Charles University Prague, Faculty of Social Sciences, Institute of Economic Studies, vol. 5(3), pages 231-248, November.
    17. David Marshall, 2010. "Who to lobby and when: Institutional determinants of interest group strategies in European Parliament committees," European Union Politics, , vol. 11(4), pages 553-575, December.
    18. Mark Shephard & Paul Cairney, 2005. "The Impact of the Scottish Parliament in Amending Executive Legislation," Political Studies, Political Studies Association, vol. 53(2), pages 303-319, June.
    19. Roman Senninger & Daniel Bischof, 2018. "Working in unison: Political parties and policy issue transfer in the multilevel space," European Union Politics, , vol. 19(1), pages 140-162, March.
    20. Stefanie Bailer & Florian Weiler, 2015. "A political economy of positions in climate change negotiations: Economic, structural, domestic, and strategic explanations," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 10(1), pages 43-66, March.
    21. Jelmer Schalk & René Torenvlied & Jeroen Weesie & Frans Stokman, 2007. "The Power of the Presidency in EU Council Decision-making," European Union Politics, , vol. 8(2), pages 229-250, June.
    22. Attila Kovács, 2013. "New Ways for Companies to Develop Effective Lobbying Strategies in the European Parliament A case study in the field of the Common Agricultural Policy," Proceedings of FIKUSZ '13, in: Pál Michelberger (ed.),Proceedings of FIKUSZ '13, pages 77-96, Óbuda University, Keleti Faculty of Business and Management.
    23. Jonathan B. Slapin, 2006. "Who Is Powerful?," European Union Politics, , vol. 7(1), pages 51-76, March.
    24. Bjorn Hoyland, 2006. "Allocation of Codecision Reports in the Fifth European Parliament," European Union Politics, , vol. 7(1), pages 30-50, March.

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