WHY INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION STRENGTHENS NATIONAL EXECUTIVES: THE CASE OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY Andrew Moravcsik Department of Government Harvard University Current Address: Center for European Studies, Harvard University 27 Kirkland Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 Tel: (617) 495-4303, x205 / Fax: (617) 495-8509 e-mail:
[email protected] Paper presented at the 1995 ECSA Conference, Charleston, SC ABSTRACT Most contemporary theories of international cooperation treat states as unitary actors, thereby neglecting the influence of international negotiations and institutions on domestic politics. This essay offers a theory of how and when international cooperation redistributes domestic political influence of political leaders and societal groups. A principal-agent model of domestic politics suggests three propositions: (1) International cooperation influences domestic politics by redistributing four key domestic political resources - initiative, institutions, information and ideas. (2) This reallocation of domestic political resources generally favors those who participate directly in international negotiations and institutions. Most often, though not invariably, these are national executives, who "cut slack," that is, loosen constraints imposed by legislatures, interest groups, ministries and other domestic actors. (3) The resulting shift in the incentives facing political leaders feeds back into international bargaining, often altering the possibilities for international cooperation. These three propositions are confirmed by an empirical