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Network Capital and Cooperation Patterns in the Working Groups of the Council of the EU

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  • Daniel Naurin

Abstract

This working paper presents findings from a study of network capital and cooperation patterns in the working groups of the Council of the European Union. Two successive rounds of telephone interviews with Council working group representatives from all member states were conducted in 2003 and 2006. It is demonstrated that some member states have a consistently higher stock of network capital (having close ties to a large number of powerful cooperation partners) than others, over time and across policy fields. Size explains a lot of this variation, but there is also room for actor-based factors. For small states in particular inter-personal trust seems to have a positive effect. The findings also indicate that cooperation patterns in the Council working groups follow geographical patterns. The dominant North-South dimension is consistent across policy fields. Rather than having one 'core' the EU15 Council revolved around a North (the Netherlands, Sweden and the UK) and a South (France, Italy, Spain) center, connected by Germany. The 2004 enlargement did not change this pattern, but only added new groups of countries to the periphery around the two main centers. There is evidence to suggest that the geographical cooperation patterns are mainly driven by cultural factors, rather than economic interests or political ideologies.

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  • Daniel Naurin, 2007. "Network Capital and Cooperation Patterns in the Working Groups of the Council of the EU," EUI-RSCAS Working Papers 14, European University Institute (EUI), Robert Schuman Centre of Advanced Studies (RSCAS).
    • Handle: RePEc:erp:euirsc:p0190
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    3. Daniel F. Schulz & Thomas Henökl, 2020. "New Alliances in Post-Brexit Europe: Does the New Hanseatic League Revive Nordic Political Cooperation?," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 8(4), pages 409-419.
    4. Maja Kluger Rasmussen, 2016. "‘Heavy Fog in the Channel. Continent Cut Off’? British Diplomatic Relations in Brussels after 2010," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(3), pages 709-724, May.
    5. Mats Braun, 2020. "Postfunctionalism, Identity and the Visegrad Group," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 58(4), pages 925-940, July.
    6. Daniel F. Schulz & Thomas Henökl, 2020. "New Alliances in Post-Brexit Europe: Does the New Hanseatic League Revive Nordic Political Cooperation?," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 8(4), pages 78-88.
    7. Magnus Lundgren & Stefanie Bailer & Lisa M Dellmuth & Jonas Tallberg & Silvana Târlea, 2019. "Bargaining success in the reform of the Eurozone," European Union Politics, , vol. 20(1), pages 65-88, March.
    8. Ulf Söderström, 2010. "Reevaluating Swedish Membership in the European Monetary Union: Evidence from an Estimated Model," NBER Chapters, in: Europe and the Euro, pages 379-414, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    9. Javier Arregui, 2016. "Determinants of Bargaining Satisfaction Across Policy Domains in the European Union Council of Ministers," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(5), pages 1105-1122, September.

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