| ID | 190066 |
| Title Proper | How does delegation structure shape agent discretion in EU foreign policy? Evidence from the Normandy Format and the Contact Group on Libya |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Sus, Monika |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | Informal groupings have proliferated in EU foreign policy over the past decade, despite the enhanced role of the High Representative tasked with ensuring the coherence of this policy domain under the Lisbon Treaty. This article analyzes how the decision of select EU member states to act on certain policy issues through informal groupings, bypassing the EU framework, affects the High Representative’s room for maneuver. Drawing on the principal-agent model, the emergence of informal groupings is conceptualized as a manifestation of pathological delegation, which undermines High Representative’s role. The findings reveal two factors that may nevertheless increase the agent’s discretion in cases of delegation anomalies: the low heterogeneity of member state preferences toward the informal grouping and the interaction between agents in the same domain, facilitating agent’s performance. By examining agent's discretion when delegation anomalies arise, the article may be useful for scholars investigating delegation and agency in international organizations. |
| `In' analytical Note | Contemporary Security Policy Vol. 44, No.1; Jan 2023: p.67-96 |
| Journal Source | Contemporary Security Policy Vol: 44 No 1 |
| Key Words | Discretion ; Normandy Format ; Principal-Agent Approach ; Supranational Agents ; High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy ; Libya Contact Group |