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The Janus Face of Brussels: Socialization and Everyday Decision Making in the European Union

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  • Lewis, Jeffrey

Abstract

This article examines the European Union's Committee of Permanent Representatives, or COREPER, a group composed of the EU permanent representatives (permreps) and responsible for preparing upcoming ministerial meetings of the Council. As the heart of everyday decision making in the EU, COREPER is a key laboratory to test whether and how national officials become socialized into a Brussels-based collective culture and what difference this makes for EU negotiations. The key scope conditions for COREPER socialization are high issue density/intensity and insulation from domestic politics. COREPER also displays a range of socialization mechanisms, including strategic calculation, role playing, and normative suasion. Based on extensive interview data and a detailed case study of negotiations for a controversial EU citizenship directive, this article documents a socialization pathway in COREPER marked by adherence to a set of norm-guided rules and principled beliefs in collectively legitimating arguments and making decisions. COREPER socialization does not indicate a pattern of national identities being replaced or subsumed; rather, the evidence points to a socialization process based on a “logic of appropriateness” and an expanded conception of the self.For feedback on earlier versions, I am grateful to the project participants and especially Jeffrey Checkel, Matthew Evangelista, Iain Johnston, and Michael Zürn. I thank the editors and two anonymous reviewers for comments that greatly improved the final product. I also acknowledge generous support from the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies and the American Political Science Association's Small Grant Program, which funded portions of field research associated with this project.

Suggested Citation

  • Lewis, Jeffrey, 2005. "The Janus Face of Brussels: Socialization and Everyday Decision Making in the European Union," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 59(4), pages 937-971, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:intorg:v:59:y:2005:i:04:p:937-971_05
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    2. Frank M. Häge, 2007. "Committee Decision-making in the Council of the European Union," European Union Politics, , vol. 8(3), pages 299-328, September.
    3. Richard Hanania, 2019. "Are Liberal Governments More Cooperative? Voting Trends at the UN in Five Anglophone Democracies," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 63(6), pages 1403-1432, July.
    4. Leonardo Martinez-Diaz, 2009. "Boards of directors in international organizations: A framework for understanding the dilemmas of institutional design," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 4(4), pages 383-406, December.
    5. Hyo Won Lee, 2019. "Legalization and dispute settlement benefits: The case of the GATT/WTO," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 14(3), pages 479-509, September.
    6. Bernd Hayo & Pierre-Guillaume Méon, 2013. "Behind closed doors: Revealing the ECB’s decision rule," Post-Print CEB, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles, vol. 37, pages 135-160, October.
    7. Onno Hoffmeister, 2006. "Inequality of Personal Income in the Enlarged EU: The Role of the Welfare States, Regional Cohesion Policies and Economic Integration," LIS Working papers 440, LIS Cross-National Data Center in Luxembourg.
    8. Smeets, Sandrino, 2013. "How issues move or get stuck: Or how to be effective in the EU Council of Ministers," European Integration online Papers (EIoP), European Community Studies Association Austria (ECSA-A), vol. 17, July.
    9. James P Cross & Jørgen Bølstad, 2015. "Openness and censorship in the European Union: An interrupted time series analysis," European Union Politics, , vol. 16(2), pages 216-240, June.
    10. Simon Lightfoot & Balázs Szent‐Iványi, 2014. "Reluctant Donors? The Europeanization of International Development Policies in the New Member States," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(6), pages 1257-1272, November.
    11. Rebecca Adler-Nissen, 2016. "Towards a Practice Turn in EU Studies: The Everyday of European Integration," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(1), pages 87-103, January.
    12. Ripoll Servent, Ariadna and Amy Busby, 2013. "Introduction: Agency and influence inside the EU institutions," European Integration online Papers (EIoP), European Community Studies Association Austria (ECSA-A), vol. 17, July.
    13. Scharpf, Fritz Wilhelm, 2009. "Legitimacy in the multilevel European polity," MPIfG Working Paper 09/1, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies.
    14. Winzen, Thomas, 2022. "Democratic Backsliding and Decisionmaking in the European Union: Eurosceptic Contestation?," Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation, Working Paper Series qt6gs0r9wn, Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation, University of California.
    15. Jonathan Golub, 2007. "Survival Analysis and European Union Decision-making," European Union Politics, , vol. 8(2), pages 155-179, June.
    16. Cottiero, Christina & Hafner-Burton, Emily & Haggard, Stephan & Prather, Lauren & Schneider, Christina J, 2024. "Illiberal Regimes and International Organizations," Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation, Working Paper Series qt2bx6b98g, Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation, University of California.
    17. Patrick Müller and Nicole Alecu de Flers, 2009. "Applying the Concept of Europeanization to the Study of Foreign Policy: Dimensions and Mechanisms," Working Papers of the Vienna Institute for European integration research (EIF) 5, Institute for European integration research (EIF).
    18. Ramona Coman, 2024. "Backsliding Populist Governments in the Council: The Case of the Hungarian Fidesz," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 12.
    19. Mühlböck, Monika and Berthold Rittberger, 2015. "The Council, the European Parliament, and the paradox of inter-institutional cooperation," European Integration online Papers (EIoP), European Community Studies Association Austria (ECSA-A), vol. 19, January.
    20. Mareike Kleine, 2013. "Knowing your limits: Informal governance and judgment in the EU," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 8(2), pages 245-264, June.
    21. Thomas Gift & Daniel Krcmaric, 2017. "Who Democratizes? Western-educated Leaders and Regime Transitions," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 61(3), pages 671-701, March.
    22. David Benjamin Weyrauch & Christoph Valentin Steinert, 2022. "Instrumental or intrinsic? Human rights alignment in intergovernmental organizations," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 17(1), pages 89-115, January.
    23. Ana E. Juncos & Karolina Pomorska, 2007. "The Deadlock that never Happened: the Impact of Enlargement on the Common Foreign and Security Policy Council Working Groups," European Political Economy Review, European Political Economy Infrastructure Consortium, vol. 6(March), pages 4-30.

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