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German Parliamentary Party Groups in Europeanised Policymaking: Awakening from the Sleep? Institutions and Heuristics as MPs’ Resources

2010; Routledge; Volume: 19; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/09644001003774198

1743-8993

Sabine Kropp,

Political Systems and Governance

Abstract As a contribution to the 'de-parliamentarisation' debate, this article discusses the Europeanisation of the Bundestag by focusing on parliamentary party groups and their policy experts. In the German 'working parliament', these units are focal points for coordinating policymaking. By adding the explanatory power of 'belief systems' and, more generally, of 'heuristics' to theories of new institutionalism, this explanatory study reveals that although new institutionalism frameworks have served as rather good guidelines for explaining why German MPs have backed off scrutinising the government and co-governing in EU policymaking, they can be further improved by explicitly integrating elements of cognitive theory. The study empirically draws on elite interviews with MPs and their staff. These interviews offer insights into heuristics which serve to diminish information overload and which help MPs to cope with trade-offs and conflicts between EU issues and programmatic positions that point back to national party affiliations. Notes I am grateful to Michael Baurmann, Jürgen Dieringer, and Andrej Stuchlík for helpful comments on this paper. New data on the extent of Europeanisation is offered by T. König and L. Mäder, 'Das Regieren jenseits des Nationalstaates und der Mythos einer 80-Prozent-Europäisierung in Deutschland', Politische Vierteljahresschrift 49/4 (2008), pp.438–63. Their results reveal that previous research estimates dramatically overstated the influence of Europeanisation on German legislation; A.E. Töller, 'Dimensionen der Europäisierung – das Beispiel des Deutschen Bundestages', Zeitschrift für Parlamentsfragen 35/1 (2004), pp.25–50. T. Raunio and A. Wright, 'Holyrood and Europe – an Incremental Response to Deparliamentarisation', Regional and Federal Studies 16/3 (2006), pp.281–96, at p.282. S.S. Andersen and T.R. Burns, 'The European Union and the Erosion of Parliamentary Democracy: A Study of Post-parliamentary Governance', in S.S. Andersen and K.A. Eliassen (eds.), The European Union: How Democratic Is It? (London: Sage, 1996), pp.227–51. See K. Auel and A. Benz, 'National Parliaments in EU Multilevel Governance – Dilemmas and Strategies of Adaptation', polis No. 60 (Hagen, 2004); K. Auel and A. Benz (eds.), The Europeanisation of Parliamentary Democracy (Legislative Studies, Special Issue 11/3–4, 2005); K. Auel and A. Benz 'The Politics of Adaptation: The Europeanisation of National Parliamentary Systems', in Auel and Benz (eds.), The Europeanisation of Parliamentary Democracy (Legislative Studies, Special Issue 11/3–4, 2005), pp.372–93; K. Auel, 'The Europeanisation of the German Bundestag: Institutional Change and Informal Adaptation', German Politics 15/3 (2006), pp.249–68. See S.S. Schüttemeyer, Fraktionen im Deutschen Bundestag. Empirische Befunde und theoretische Folgerungen (Opladen/Wiesbaden: Westdeutscher, 1998). See for many contributions A. Maurer, Parlamentarische Demokratie in der Europäischen Union. Der Beitrag des Europäischen Parlaments und der nationalen Parlamente (Baden-Baden: Nomos, 2002); A.C. Janowski, Die nationalen Parlamente und ihre Europa-Gremien. Legitimationsgarant der EU? (Baden-Baden: Nomos, 2005). J. von Oertzen, Das Expertenparlament. Abgeordnetenrollen in den Fachstrukturen bundesdeutscher Parlamente (Baden-Baden: Nomos, 2006). See S. Hölscheidt, 'The German Bundestag: From Benevolent "Weakness" Towards Supportive Scrutiny?', in A. Maurer and W. Wessels (eds.), National Parliaments on their Way to Europe. Losers or Latecomers? (Baden-Baden: Nomos, 2001), pp.117–45, at p.123. Ibid., pp.129–30. See Auel, 'The Europeanisation of the German Bundestag'. See ibid., p.252. A. Benz, 'Path-Dependent Institutions and Strategic Veto-Players: National Parliaments in the European Union', West European Politics 27/5 (2004), pp.875–900; Auel, 'The Europeanisation of the German Bundestag'. Time will tell if the ruling of the German Constitutional Court on the Lisbon Treaty will effectively embed the Bundestag in the European decision-making process. This ruling stipulates that the exercise of the bridging and the flexibility clause as well as some ordinary and the simplified revision procedures require a law or the approval of the parliament. See BVerfG, 2 BvE 2/08, 30.6.2009; C. Wohlfahrt, 'The Lisbon Case: A Critical Summary', German Law Journal 10/2 (2009), http://www.germanlawjournal.com The term is used by M. Schwarzmeier, Parlamentarische Mitsteuerung. Strukturen und Prozesse informalen Einflusses im Deutschen Bundestag (Wiesbaden: Westdeutscher, 2001). See T. Saalfeld, 'Deliberate Delegation or Abdication? Government Backbenchers, Ministers and European Legislation', in K. Auel and A. Benz (eds.), The Europeanisation of Parliamentary Democracy (Legislative Studies, Special Issue 11/3–4, 2005), pp.343–71. A.-S. Petersen and V. Kaina, '"Die Fäden habe ich in der Hand": Arbeitsgruppenvorsitzende der SPD- und CDU/CDU-Bundestagsfraktionen', Zeitschrift für Parlamentsfragen 38/2 (2007), pp.243–60. Allegory used in personal interview with member of majority party group's staff. See F. Scharpf, Games Real Actors Play. Actor-Centered Institutionalism in Policy Research (Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1997). See P. Pierson, 'The Limits of Design: Explaining Institutional Origins and Change', Governance 13/4 (2000), pp.475–99; P. Pierson, Politics in Time. History, Institutions, and Social Analysis (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2004). This was also confirmed by articles published in Auel and Benz, 'The Europeanisation of Parliamentary Democracy'. Auel, 'The Europeanisation of the German Bundestag'; Auel and Benz, 'The Politics of Adaptation'. See also Auel, 'The Europeanisation of the German Bundestag', p.261; von Oertzen, Das Expertenparlament. D.C. North, Institutions, Institutional Change and Economic Performance. Political Economy of Institutions and Decisions (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990). G. Helmke and S. Levitsky, 'Informal Institutions and Comparative Politics: A Research Agenda', Perspectives on Politics 2/4 (2005), pp.725–40, at p.727. See J. Pierre and G.B. Peters, Governance, Politics and the State (Basingstoke/London: Palgrave Macmillan 2000), at p.76; H. Farell and A. Héritier, 'Formal and Informal Institutions Under Codecision: Continuous Constitution-Building in Europe', Governance 16/4 (2003), pp.577–600. M. Hajer, 'Policy without Polity? Policy Analysis and the Institutional Void', Policy Sciences 36/2 (2003), pp.175–95. See W. Schreckenberger, 'Informelle Verfahren der Entscheidungsvorbereitung zwischen der Bundesregierung und Mehrheitsfraktionen: Koalitionsgespräche und Koalitionsrunden', Zeitschrift für Parlamentsfragen 25/3 (1994), pp.329–46; for the more optimistic camp see H. Schulze-Fielitz, Der informale Verfassungsstaat. Aktuelle Beobachtungen des Verfassungslebens der Bundesrepublik Deutschland im Lichte der Verfassungstheorie (Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, 1984). Auel, 'The Europeanisation of the German Bundestag'. The arguments of K. Auel point into a similar direction. See Auel, 'The Europeanisation of the German Bundestag'. For the discussion on role behaviour of MPs see as an example D.D. Searing, Westminster's World: Understanding Political Roles (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1994); for a definition of 'position roles' see K. Str⊘m, 'Rules, Reasons and Routines: Legislative Roles in Parliamentary Democracies', in W.C. Müller and T. Saalfeld (eds.), Members of Parliament in Western Europe. Roles and Behaviour, (London/Portland: Verlag, 1997), pp.153–74; von Oertzen, Das Expertenparlament, at pp.26ff. W.J. Patzelt, 'Ein latenter Verfassungskonflikt? Die Deutschen und ihr parlamentarisches Regierungssystem', Politische Vierteljahresschrift 39/4 (1998), pp.725–57, at p.748. The different theoretical strands dealing with cognitive aspects in policymaking cannot be discussed in detail here. 'Belief systems', 'heuristics', or 'frames' point back to different theoretical sources but all aim at explaining that actors simplify complex situations by relying on incomplete research. A good summary structuring this discussion is offered by H. Schoen, 'Der demokratische Musterbürger als Normalfall? Kognitionspsychologische Einblicke in die black box politischer Meinungsbildung', Politische Vierteljahresschrift 47/1 (2006), pp.89–101. R. Lau, 'Models of Decision-Making', in D.O. Sears, L. Huddy and R. Jervis (eds.), Oxford Handbook of Political Psychology (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003), pp.19–59, at p.31; U. Hoffrage, R. Hertwig and G. Gigerenzer, 'Die ökologische Rationalität einfacher Entscheidungs- und Urteilsheuristiken', in H. Siegenthaler (ed.), Rationalität im Prozess kultureller Evolution. Rationalitätsunterstellungen als eine Bedingung der Möglichkeit substantieller Rationalität des Handelns (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2005), pp.65–89. M. Lodge and C. Taber, 'Three Steps toward a Theory of Motivated Political Reasoning', in A. Lupia, M.D. McCubbins and S.L. Popkin (eds.), Elements of Reason. Cognition, Choice, and the Bounds of Rationality (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000), pp.183–213, at p.188. P.A. Sabatier, 'The Advocacy Coalition Framework: Revisions and Relevance for Europe', Journal of European Public Policy 5/1 (1998), pp.98–130; P.A. Sabatier and H.C. Jenkins-Smith, 'The Advocacy Coalition Framework. An Assessment', in P.A. Sabatier (eds.), Theories of the Policy Process (Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1999), pp.117–66. Together with the CSU deputy P. Gauweiler, the Left Party brought the Treaty of Lisbon to the Federal Constitutional Court discussing whether the Lisbon Treaty calls into question the basic principles of representative democracy by undermining the power of national parliaments. For the electoral campaign to the EP, the Left Party did not even renominate candidates favouring the Lisbon Treaty. See B. Wessels, 'Roles and Orientations of Members of Parliament in the EU Context: Congruence or Difference? Europeanisation or Not', Journal of Legislative Studies 11/3–4 (2005), pp.446–65, at p.452. Ibid., at p.453. See Auel, 'The Europeanisation of the German Bundestag'. This differentiation was recently proposed by V.A. Schmidt, 'Discursive Institutionalism: The Explanatory Power of Ideas and Discourses', Annual Review of Political Science 11 (2008), pp.303–26. P.E. Tetlock, 'Coping with Trade-Offs: Psychological Constraints and Political Implications', in A. Lupia, M.D. McCubbins and S.L. Popkin (eds.), Elements of Reason. Cognition, Choice, and the Bounds of Rationality (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000), pp.239–63, at pp.240, 243. Lodge and Taber, 'Three Steps toward a Theory of Motivated Political Reasoning', pp.207–210, at p.187. See also Tetlock, 'Coping with Trade-Offs', at p.240. During recent years, this permissive consensus has become more fragile. Note the referenda in Ireland, France and the Netherlands, where the electorate rejected the European Constitution. Lau, 'Models of Decision-Making', at p.34. Personal interview with majority MdB. 'Bekanntmachung zur Änderung der Geschäftsordnung des Deutschen Bundestages vom 29. Juli 2008', Bundesgesetzblatt I/37 (Bonn, 2008); see also 'Amtliche Mitteilung des Präsidenten des Deutschen Bundestages, betr. Priorisierung von EU-Dokumenten', 6 July 2007. Personal interview with staff member of the PA 1 – Europa administrative unit. Personal interview with staff member. Personal interviews with PA 1 – Europa and staff members. Personal interviews with PA 1 – Europa. Personal interviews with majority MdBs and opposition MdBs. Personal interview with staff member. In the opposition working groups, ministerial bureaucrats and cabinet members seldom participate. Personal interview with Parliamentary State Secretary. Personal interview with Parliamentary Secretary. Personal interview with majority MdB. See percentages of at least monthly contacts of German MPs to the European Level in 1996 and 2003; Wessels, 'Roles and Orientations', at p.460. In general, MPs holding direct seats focus their work more on constituency work than list MPs who are more focused on the parliamentary arena, see W.J. Patzelt, 'The Constituency Roles of MPs at the Federal and Länder Levels in Germany', Regional and Federal Studies 17/1 (2007), pp.47–70, at p.55. Ibid., at p.53. Personal interview with opposition MdB. Data is also offered by Wessels, 'Roles and Orientations', at p.460. MdEPs are the actors most frequently contacted. Personal interview with majority MdB. Personal interviews with majority MdB, Parliamentary State Secretary, and staff members. Personal interview with majority MdB. Personal interview with majority MdB. Personal interview with Parliamentary State Secretary and majority MdB. This differentiation was proposed by Helmke and Levitsky, 'Informal Institutions and Comparative Politics: A Research Agenda'. See ibid. The other side of the coin, of course, is the further growth of non-transparency inevitably attended by informality. Some interviews also point into this direction. Personal interview with opposition MdB. 'Council Framework Decision of 13 June 2002 on the European arrest warrant and the surrender procedures between Member States (2002/584/JHA)'. German MPs were blamed by the Federal Constitutional Court for not having scrutinised the executive sufficiently, thus giving way to a law which was not in line with the German constitution. Personal interviews with opposition and majority MdBs. Tetlock, 'Coping with Trade-Offs', at p.262. Similar to the 'elimination-by-aspects-heuristic' and the 'lexicographic heuristic', see Lau, 'Models of Decision-Making', at p.34. Regulation (EC) No.1907/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 Dec. 2006 concerning the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH). 'Directive 2006/123/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2006 on Services in the Internal Market', OJ L376 of 27 Dec. 2006. BVerfG, 2 BvE 2/08, 30 June 2009; C. Tomuschat, 'The Ruling of the German Constitutional Court on the Treaty of Lisbon', German Law Journal 10/2 (2009), http://www.germanlawjournal.com Personal interview with majority MdB.