Multinational Negotiation Parties: The Case of the European Community
| Author | Arild Underdal |
| Date | 01 November 1973 |
| DOI | 10.1177/001083677300800303 |
| Published date | 01 November 1973 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
Multinational Negotiation Parties:
The
Case
of
the European Community*
ARILD UNDERDAL
University of Oslo, Norway
Underdal, A. Multinational Negotiation Parties: The Case of the European Commu-
nity. Cooperation and Conllict,
VII/,
1973,
173-82.
An outline and explanation are given of some of the main characteristics in the negoti-
ating behaviour of the European Community, and - more generally - of multi-
national actors at a similar level of integration. The EC is considered to be a coalition
of states - more pluralistic and more complex than state actors. In this analysis
focus is on the implications of pluralism. The dimension of pluralism itself is held
to be relevant, first, to decision-making capacity, and, second, to the decisions produced,
and - by implication - to the character and outcome of the negotiation processes.
One main proposition submitted is that decision-making- capacity is inversely related
to pluralism of authority and structural complexity. Two main characteristics with
regard to the actual decisions produced are found and discussed: First, the decisions
taken usually have to be close to the position advocated by the member that feels its
vital interests at stake on a particular issue, and second, very often Community de-
cisions are hard to modify or change. Throughout the article, the significance of the
characteristics described is analysed in relation to three models of negotiation: inte-
grative negotiations, negotiations governed by the principle of fairness, and distributive
bargaining. Finally, the author explains to what extent and how the choice of procedure
might affect the conclusions arrived at.
Arild
Underdal, University of Oslo, Norway.
I.
INTRODUCTION
With
the
development
of
common
policies
in
general,
and
external
policy in
partic-
ular,
the
European
Community
finds
it-
self
engaged
in
an
increasing
number
of
negotiations
with
other
states.
At
the
same
time
other
regional
organizations
try
to
breath
a
life
of
their
own,
aspiring
to
stronger
and
more
extensive
co-ordination
of positions
towards
the
outside
world.
Thus,
the
development
of
regional
inte-
gration
makes it
important,
theoretically
as
well
as
practically,
to
improve
our
un-
derstanding
of
how
organizations
like
the
EC
are
functioning
as
negotiation
parties.
...
This paper is based upon an earlier unpub-
lished study of the negotiations on Norwegian
membership of the EC. In a somewhat different
form and context the main conclusions will also
appear in a forthcoming book on these negotia-
tions. I would like to thank Knut Midgaard
Martin
Seeter,
and Halvor Stenstadvold fo;
their comments on earlier drafts.
This
task
calls
for
a
combination
of sev-
eral
fields of political science;
more
par-
ticularly
theories
of
integration
and
the-
ories
of
negotiation.
In
this
article
we
shall
focus on
the
European
Community.
Hopefully,
how-
ever,
our
conclusions
may
apply
also to
other
organizations
at a
similar
level
of
integration
(and
complexity).
This
article
proceeds
from
the
assumption
that
one
of
the
most
powerful
keys to
understanding
Community
negotiating
behaviour
is to be
found
in
the
logic of
Community
decision-
making.
Its
purpose,
then,
is to
outline
some
main
implications
for
negotiations
of
the
political
system of
the
European
Community.
Our
approach
is
primarily
deductive,
and
the
propositions suggested
have
not
been
submitted
to
any
extensive
empirical
tests.
Moreover,
we
should
like to stress
that
this
paper
aims
at
a
very
general
outline.
Admittedly,
our
portrait
will
be
subject
to modifications,
depending
upon
which
To continue reading
Request your trial