Power Structures between NPAs and IPAs – The Power and Influence of National Public Administrations

Coordination between national (NPA) and international public administrations (IPA) commonly unfolds in a multilevel administrative system. In this multilevel system power structures between the two groups of actors have been established, but are also dynamic and evolve. Although principals have formal competences to monitor and to some extent determine the aims of the agent, there are also informal channels to mutually influence each other. So far scientific research and studies tend to focus extensively on the potential power and authority international actors can utilize to influence national policy making. Formal and especially informal channels of national administrative power in international organizations, however, have received far less attention. Therefore, this paper aims to evaluate how NPAs are able to influence the agenda of IPAs by utilizing the Principal-Agent-Theory. To illustrate and uncover these power structures, this study will focus on the energy policy field. Energy policy is considered a national policy area, with distinct national strategies on which energy technology should be used and how energy mixes should be developed, especially regarding renewable energies, their development and aspired scope of application. Yet, energy policy is also an issue of transnational governance. In the energy policy field, two important and well-known organizations, which focus on renewable energies, are the IEA and the IRENA. This paper summarizes findings of an empirical study on the administrative relations between these IPAs and selected NPAs. First empirical findings suggest that there are several formal and informal ways how NPAs are able to have an impact on the agenda of the international administration. A possible formal measure at their disposal concerns the provision of voluntary contributions, while a possible informal way is the use of contacts to civil servants within the IPA to gain crucial information or push one’s own agenda forward. It is important to note, however, that the usage of these instruments mostly depends on the capacities of the NPAs. For example, internal resources can have a tremendous impact on how and to which extent the NPAs are able to utilize power. These findings and evaluations of power structures between NPAs and IPAs enhance and resonate with the scientific literature on NPAs as powerful actors and stakeholders in international organizations.