Voting Unity of National Parties in Bicameral EU Decision Making Speaking with One Voice 1st Edition by Monika Mühlböck 9783319394640 3319394649

Chapter 1: Introduction

1.1 Motivation: The Roles National Parties Might Play in Bicameral EU Decision-Making

1.2 Research Questions: One Voice or Forked Tongue?

Overarching Research Question: Which factors lead to united or divergent voting behavior of minister

1.3 A Framework for Analysis: Of Principals, Agents, and Constraints

1.4 The Research Plan: A Mixed-Methods Approach

1.5 Compiling a New Dataset: Voting in Bicameral Decision-Making

1.6 A Look Behind the Scenes: Qualitative Interviews

1.7 Overview of the Book

Notes

Bibliography

Chapter 2: Voting in EU Decision-Making

2.1 The EU’s Bicameral Legislative System

2.2 Voting in the European Parliament

2.3 A Bias in European Parliament Roll-Call Votes?

2.4 “Voting” in the Council

2.5 Different Datasets on and Definitions of Council Voting

2.6 A Bias in Council Data?

Notes

Bibliography

Chapter 3: The Influence of National Parties

3.1 Potential Control Mechanisms

3.2 Control Over MEPs

Candidate Selection

Prior Instructions and Reporting Requirements

General Assessment of Party Control Over MEPs

3.3 Control Over Ministers in the Council

Prior Instructions and Reporting Requirements

Government Type

The Influence of National Parliaments on EU Decision-Making

General Assessment of Party Control Over Ministers in the Council

3.4 Coordination Between Ministers and MEPs

Contacts Between Ministers and MEPs

The Permanent Representations as Coordinators Between the Council and EP

Coordination of Voting Behavior Between Ministers and MEPs

General Assessment of Coordination Between Ministers and MEPs

3.5 Summary

Notes

Bibliography

Chapter 4: The Influence of Institutional Constraints

4.1 The Main Constraint in the EP: Transnational Groups

4.2 Voting Cohesion of Transnational Groups

4.3 Defection from the Transnational Group

4.4 The Main Constraint in the Council: The “Culture of Consensus”

4.5 Consensual Voting in the Council

4.6 Defection from the Consensus

4.7 Summary

Notes

Bibliography

Chapter 5: Voting Unity Between Ministers and Members of the European Parliament

5.1 Theorizing Voting Unity

5.2 How Often Do Ministers and MEPs of the Same Party Vote the Same Way?

5.3 Factors that Might Influence Voting Unity

The Incentive to Display Cohesion

Party Control Over Ministers and MEPs

Direct Coordination Between Ministers and MEPs

Party-Internal Dissent

Divergent Institutional Constraints

Overview Over Hypotheses and Indicators

5.4 Variables

Voting Unity

Incentive to Display Cohesion

Party Control Over Ministers and MEPs

Direct Coordination Between Ministers and MEPs

Party-Internal Dissent

Divergent Institutional Constraints

Control Variables

5.5 Explaining Voting Unity

Summary

Notes

Bibliography

Chapter 6: National Parties versus Institutional Constraints

6.1 The Cases for Analysis

6.2 What Happens If MEPs Have to Decide Between Their Minister and Their EPG?

Recapitulating Theory and Previous Findings

Different Options for MEPs

6.3 Can Parties Enhance Voting Unity in These Cases?

Control and Media Attention

Analysis

What Happens If Ministers Have to Decide Between Their MEPs and the Council Consensus?

Summary

Notes

Bibliography

Chapter 7: Conclusion

7.1 Answers to the Research Questions

Voting Unity of National Parties in Bicameral EU Decision-Making

How National Parties Try to Influence Voting Behavior in Council and EP

The “Institutional Constraints” That Shape the Voting Behavior of Ministers and MEPs

The Frequency of Voting Unity Between Ministers and MEPs

Factors That Influence Voting Unity

The Ability of National Parties to Ensure Voting Unity

7.2 The Main Findings: “Voting Unity” in a Nutshell

7.3 Explaining the Findings Concerning Voting Unity

7.4 Theorizing the Role of National Parties in Bicameral EU Decision-Making

The Influence of National Parties

Bicameralism in the EU

7.5 Summary of the Project and Avenues for Future Research