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Institutional Capacities as Determinants of EP´s Legislative Outputs

European Politics
European Union
Negotiation
Decision Making
Power
European Parliament
Javier Arregui
Universitat Pompeu Fabra
Javier Arregui
Universitat Pompeu Fabra

Abstract

The main goal of this paper is to identify and test the principal institutional determinants of the power capacities that actors hold in the EP´s policy-making. By determinants we mean the (institutional) factors as well as the conditions under which actors become powerful in the development of the EP´s legislative process. So far in relation to institutional sources of power, rapporteurs and shadow rapporteurs have received much attention in the literature (Yordanova 2010; Costello and Thomson 2010; Ringe 2010; Finge 2012). There is a general agreement that those actors are frequently ´powerful` actors. However, we do not know the extent to which they are powerful (in relation to other actors) as well as the conditions under which they are ´powerful`. On the other hand, the influence of committee chairs and group leaders has received little or no attention. Thus, the point of departure of this research will start where those ´findings` of the literature have ended. Thus, the research question we pose is: Under what conditions rapporteurs, shadow rapporteurs, committee chairs and group leaders can explain variation of their formal (and informal) power in EP legislative decision-making? In order to do so, this research will collect a unique data set that ´measures` the (formal and informal) capacities of EP key actors both in a systematic way (by using quantitative scales) as well as in a number of case studies that help to identify conditions under which those actors become more (or less) relevant institutional actors