Small States in the European Union: Political Representation in The
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ÇAĞKAN FELEK ÇAĞKAN SMALL STATES IN THE EUROPEAN UNION: POLITICAL REPRESENTATION IN THE IN THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION EUROPEAN THE OF COUNCIL THE AND PARLIAMENT EUROPEAN THE IN SMALL STATES IN THE EUROPEAN UNION: EUROPEAN IN THE STATES SMALL EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION A Ph.D. Dissertation POLITICAL EPRESENTATION POLITICAL by ÇAĞKAN FELEK Department of Political Science and Public Administration İhsan Doğramacı Bilkent University Bilkent University 2018 University Bilkent Ankara August 2018 SMALL STATES IN THE EUROPEAN UNION: POLITICAL REPRESENTATION IN THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION The Graduate School of Economics and Social Sciences of İhsan Doğramacı Bilkent University by ÇAĞKAN FELEK In Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in THE DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE AND PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION İHSAN DOĞRAMACI BİLKENT UNIVERSITY ANKARA August 2018 ABSTRACT SMALL STATES IN THE EUROPEAN UNION: POLITICAL REPRESENTATION IN THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION Felek, Çağkan Ph.D., Department of Political Science and Public Administration Supervisor: Associate Professor Dr. Ioannis N. Grigoriadis August 2018 The 2004 Enlargement of the European Union marked an important development within the institutional history of the European Union with the participation of eight Central and Eastern European and two island states. The active representation of small member states became more important than ever in the European Union policy-making. Although the literature on the representation of small states in the European Union provides an enriching contribution, existing studies are limited by their focus on providing theoretical overviews which lack empirical case study analyses. This study tackles the issue of political representation of small member states in the European Union and empirically examines the role of four small member states in European Union policy-making. By developing a set of arguments on the domestic and supranational factors impacting the role of small state representatives, this research qualitatively examines the representation of Cyprus, Estonia, Luxembourg, and Malta in the European Union institutions. In this iii research, it is argued that domestic and supranational structural factors impact representation of small states in the European Parliament and Council of the European Union. Compared to large member states, representing high percentage of country’s population, limited administrative resources and structures of party politics influence legislative behaviour of small state representatives. This leads representatives to establish a closer relationship with their constituencies in the European Parliament. Considering the Qualified Majority Voting method, representatives employ strategies which are particular to small states in order to influence voting processes in the Council of the European Union. Keywords: Cyprus, European Union, Malta, Political Representation, Small States iv ÖZET AVRUPA BİRLİĞİ’NDE KÜÇÜK DEVLETLER: AVRUPA PARLAMENTOSU VE AVRUPA BİRLİĞİ KONSEYİ’NDE SİYASİ TEMSİLİYET Felek, Çağkan Doktora, Siyaset Bilimi ve Kamu Yönetimi Bölümü Tez Yöneticisi: Doç. Dr. Ioannis N. Grigoriadis Ağustos 2018 2004 yılında sekiz Orta ve Doğu Avrupa devletleri ve iki ada ülkesinin katılımıyla gerçekleşen genişleme süreci, Avrupa Birliği’nin yerleşmiş kurumsal yapısının değişimi açısından önemli bir gelişmedir. Bu bağlamda, küçük Avrupa Birliği üyesi devletlerin politika yapım süreçlerine etkin katılım sağlayabilmesi her zamankinden daha önemlidir. Küçük devletlerin Avrupa Birliği içindeki rolüne ilişkin zengin literatür olmasına rağmen, önceki çalışmalar teorik katkı sağlamış ancak ampirik vaka çalışmaları bağlamında yetersiz kalmıştır. Bu çalışma, küçük devletlerin Avrupa Birliği’ndeki temsiliyetini konu alarak, dört küçük Avrupa Birliği üye ülkesinin politika yapım süreçlerindeki rolünü ampirik olarak analiz etmektedir. Bu araştırmada, yerel ve uluslarüstü yapısal faktörlerin küçük devlet temsilcilerinin davranışı üzerinde etkisi olduğu varsayılarak, Estonya, Kıbrıs, Lüksemburg ve Malta devletlerinin Avrupa Birliği kurumlarındaki temsiliyeti nitel araştırma yöntemleri kullanılarak analiz edilmiştir. Bu çalışma kapsamında yerel ve uluslarüstü yapısal faktörlerin, küçük devletlerin Avrupa v Parlamentosu ve Avrupa Birliği Konseyi’ndeki siyasi temsiliyeti üzerinde etkisi olduğu öne sürülmektedir. Büyük devletlere kıyasla, ülke nüfusunun yüzdelik olarak fazla kesiminin temsil edilmesi, kısıtlı idari kaynaklar ve siyasi parti yapılarının küçük devlet temsilcilerinin yasama davranışları üzerinde etkisi bulunmaktadır. Bu faktörler, Avrupa Parlamentosu’ndaki temsilcilerin seçmenleriyle daha yakın ilişki kurmasına yol açarken, Avrupa Birliği Konseyi’nde kullanılan nitelikli çoğunluk uygulaması göz önüne alındığında, temsilciler küçük devletlere özgü olan stratejileri kullanarak oy verme süreçlerini etkilemeye çalışmaktadır. Anahtar Kelimeler: Avrupa Birliği, Kıbrıs, Küçük Devletler, Malta, Siyasi Temsiliyet vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my deepest gratitude and appreciation to my supervisor Associate Professor Dr. Ioannis N. Grigoriadis who always showed his academic support while I was writing my thesis by reading every single page of my work with patience and attention. Dr. Grigoriadis was available to meet with me whenever I had questions about my research. He has made an invaluable contribution to my academic career. This study would not have been finalised without his supervision and guidance. vii I would like to thank to Associate Professor Dr. Aida Just for kindly accepting being part of my thesis monitoring committee. Dr. Just enriched my scholarship in all phases while I was drafting my thesis by always providing her detailed feedback and helping me find my way during this research. I am grateful to Assistant Professor Dr. Başak Zeynep Alpan for her kind acceptance of being another member of my thesis monitoring committee and by travelling from Middle East Technical University to Bilkent University for our committee meetings since the initial steps of my research. Her constructive comments and suggestions helped my thesis to develop and achieve its final stage. I would also like to thank to Assistant Professor Dr. Meral Uğur Çınar for her strong support during the final phase of my studies by kindly accepting to be a member in my Ph.D. Viva. I am grateful to Associate Professor Dr. Sertaç Sonan for kindly accepting to be a member in my Ph.D. Viva. viii I was fortunate to have the opportunity to study at Bilkent University surrounded by great people. I would like to thank to all of my colleagues with whom we have shared offices, enjoyed our time together, and especially for their wonderful accompany during my studies. This challenging process would not have been possible without your continuous support and excellent friendship. I would like to thank to all of the faculty members of the Department of Political Science and Public Administration and our administrative assistant, Gül Ekren, for their enormous academic and professional contribution to my studies. Finally, I owe my parents more than gratitude. This phase of my life would not be possible without their continuous support. Whatever I write here will not be enough to adequately express my gratefulness to my mum and my dad. I have always felt their presence in every step of my life including my Ph.D. studies, and this thesis would not be finalised without them. In that regard, I would like to dedicate this thesis to my dear mum and my dear dad. ix TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... iii ÖZET ...................................................................................................................................v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .............................................................................................. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS .....................................................................................................x LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................... xiii LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................... xiv CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................1 1.1. Introduction ...............................................................................................................1 1.2. Conceptualisation of the Research ............................................................................6 1.3. Outline of the Chapters ...........................................................................................12 CHAPTER 2. THEORIES OF SMALL STATES, CONCEPTUALISING THE SMALL STATE AND REPRESENTATION OF SMALL STATES IN INTERNATIONAL POLITICS ..........................................................................................................................15 2.1. Introduction .............................................................................................................15 2.2. Approaches on Power: The Small States in International Politics ..........................20 2.3. Small States Literature ............................................................................................34