This article examines why and how European Union agencies involve non-state stakeholders-such as ... more This article examines why and how European Union agencies involve non-state stakeholders-such as non-governmental organizations (NGOs), business associations or trade unions-via three access instruments: public consultations, stakeholder bodies and representation in management boards. We assess how the use of these instruments varies across agencies, and how they are linked to different motivations driving the demand for stakeholder participation. We present two alternative sets of hypotheses, first focusing on agencies' need for information, organizational capacity and reputation, and second, considering stakeholder involvement as an instrument of legislative control. We draw on a new dataset of stakeholder involvement practices of the full population of EU agencies, compiled via document analysis and interviews. Our findings indicate that stakeholder involvement is a doubleedged sword, contributing to agency accountability and control, but with an inevitable risk of dependence on the regulated industry.
To facilitate stakeholder representation, European Union (EU) agencies use a range of procedures,... more To facilitate stakeholder representation, European Union (EU) agencies use a range of procedures, including closed consultation or advisory committees and open or public consultations. For analysing what kind of stakeholders gain access to advisory committees, we compare these two particular procedures. Two theoretical perspectives guide this analysis. The first is a resource-based account, which emphasizes informational needs and leads to the expectation that not only regulated interests but also EU-level associations and European Commission expert group members will gain representation through closed consultations. The second is a norm-based perspective that stresses the importance for agencies to establish a credible reputation, leading them to balance interest representation. A systematic comparison of stakeholders represented in agency committee with those participating in open consultations demonstrates that regulated interests have no systematic advantage in gaining access to...
In 1981, Arend Lijphart wrote: “What is remarkable about Belgium is not that it is a culturally d... more In 1981, Arend Lijphart wrote: “What is remarkable about Belgium is not that it is a culturally divided society—most of the countries in the contemporary world are divided into separate and distinct cultural, religious or ethnic communities—but that its cultural communities coexist peacefully and democratically. The prospects for the Belgian consociational experiment must be regarded as highly favourable. Belgium can therefore serve as an extremely valuable and instructive example for other divided societies” (Lijphart, 1981, 1). This observation may have seemed valid in 1981; however, in 2011, international media announced the imminent breakup of Belgium as the country reached the world’s record for the longest time needed to form a government after elections. The Belgian federal elections of 2010 were followed by a political deadlock and institutional crisis, culminating in 541 days of difficult negotiations, mostly on a sixth reform of the state, before a new federal government w...
To facilitate stakeholder representation, European Union (EU) agencies use a range of procedures,... more To facilitate stakeholder representation, European Union (EU) agencies use a range of procedures, including closed consultation or advisory committees and open or public consultations. For analysing what kind of stakeholders gain access to advisory committees, we compare these two particular procedures. Two theoretical perspectives guide this analysis. The first is a resourcebased account, which emphasizes informational needs and leads to the expectation that not only regulated interests but also EU-level associations and European Commission expert group members will gain representation through closed consultations. The second is a norm-based perspective that stresses the importance for agencies to establish a credible reputation, leading them to balance interest representation. A systematic comparison of stakeholders represented in agency committee with those participating in open consultations demonstrates that regulated interests have no systematic advantage in gaining access to closed consultations. Instead, closed consultations may diversify interest representation and facilitate the involvement of non-business interests.
This article examines why and how European Union agencies involve non-state stakeholderssuch as n... more This article examines why and how European Union agencies involve non-state stakeholderssuch as non-governmental organizations (NGOs), business associations or trade unionsvia three access instruments: public consultations; stakeholder bodies; and representation in management boards. We assess how the use of these instruments varies across agencies, and how they are linked to different motivations driving the demand for stakeholder participation. We present two alternative sets of hypotheses, first focusing on agencies' need for information, organizational capacity and reputation, and second, considering stakeholder involvement as an instrument of legislative control. We draw on a new dataset of stakeholder involvement practices of the full population of EU agencies, compiled via document analysis and interviews. Our findings indicate that stakeholder involvement is a doubleedged sword, contributing to agency accountability and control, but with an inevitable risk of dependence on the regulated industry.
To design regulatory policies, agencies depend on information from the industries they are tasked... more To design regulatory policies, agencies depend on information from the industries they are tasked to regulate. Therefore, agencies can organise consultations with the aim of obtaining information from different perspectives. This article focuses on stakeholder diversity in agency public consultations. We ask to what extent is information provided by stakeholders other than the regulated sector, such as other business interests, experts or nonbusiness interests? Stakeholder diversity is relevant as it may prevent agencies to become exposed to one-sided information and capture by specialised interests. Are there consultation design factors that foster consultation diversity? Or, is (a lack of) consultation diversity structurally shaped by the context in which an agency operates? Analysing a wide range of public consultations organised by European Union regulatory agencies indicates that most information agencies receive via consultations comes from regulated interests and that the lim...
This article examines why and how European Union agencies involve non-state stakeholders-such as ... more This article examines why and how European Union agencies involve non-state stakeholders-such as non-governmental organizations (NGOs), business associations or trade unions-via three access instruments: public consultations, stakeholder bodies and representation in management boards. We assess how the use of these instruments varies across agencies, and how they are linked to different motivations driving the demand for stakeholder participation. We present two alternative sets of hypotheses, first focusing on agencies' need for information, organizational capacity and reputation, and second, considering stakeholder involvement as an instrument of legislative control. We draw on a new dataset of stakeholder involvement practices of the full population of EU agencies, compiled via document analysis and interviews. Our findings indicate that stakeholder involvement is a doubleedged sword, contributing to agency accountability and control, but with an inevitable risk of dependence on the regulated industry.
To facilitate stakeholder representation, European Union (EU) agencies use a range of procedures,... more To facilitate stakeholder representation, European Union (EU) agencies use a range of procedures, including closed consultation or advisory committees and open or public consultations. For analysing what kind of stakeholders gain access to advisory committees, we compare these two particular procedures. Two theoretical perspectives guide this analysis. The first is a resource-based account, which emphasizes informational needs and leads to the expectation that not only regulated interests but also EU-level associations and European Commission expert group members will gain representation through closed consultations. The second is a norm-based perspective that stresses the importance for agencies to establish a credible reputation, leading them to balance interest representation. A systematic comparison of stakeholders represented in agency committee with those participating in open consultations demonstrates that regulated interests have no systematic advantage in gaining access to...
In 1981, Arend Lijphart wrote: “What is remarkable about Belgium is not that it is a culturally d... more In 1981, Arend Lijphart wrote: “What is remarkable about Belgium is not that it is a culturally divided society—most of the countries in the contemporary world are divided into separate and distinct cultural, religious or ethnic communities—but that its cultural communities coexist peacefully and democratically. The prospects for the Belgian consociational experiment must be regarded as highly favourable. Belgium can therefore serve as an extremely valuable and instructive example for other divided societies” (Lijphart, 1981, 1). This observation may have seemed valid in 1981; however, in 2011, international media announced the imminent breakup of Belgium as the country reached the world’s record for the longest time needed to form a government after elections. The Belgian federal elections of 2010 were followed by a political deadlock and institutional crisis, culminating in 541 days of difficult negotiations, mostly on a sixth reform of the state, before a new federal government w...
To facilitate stakeholder representation, European Union (EU) agencies use a range of procedures,... more To facilitate stakeholder representation, European Union (EU) agencies use a range of procedures, including closed consultation or advisory committees and open or public consultations. For analysing what kind of stakeholders gain access to advisory committees, we compare these two particular procedures. Two theoretical perspectives guide this analysis. The first is a resourcebased account, which emphasizes informational needs and leads to the expectation that not only regulated interests but also EU-level associations and European Commission expert group members will gain representation through closed consultations. The second is a norm-based perspective that stresses the importance for agencies to establish a credible reputation, leading them to balance interest representation. A systematic comparison of stakeholders represented in agency committee with those participating in open consultations demonstrates that regulated interests have no systematic advantage in gaining access to closed consultations. Instead, closed consultations may diversify interest representation and facilitate the involvement of non-business interests.
This article examines why and how European Union agencies involve non-state stakeholderssuch as n... more This article examines why and how European Union agencies involve non-state stakeholderssuch as non-governmental organizations (NGOs), business associations or trade unionsvia three access instruments: public consultations; stakeholder bodies; and representation in management boards. We assess how the use of these instruments varies across agencies, and how they are linked to different motivations driving the demand for stakeholder participation. We present two alternative sets of hypotheses, first focusing on agencies' need for information, organizational capacity and reputation, and second, considering stakeholder involvement as an instrument of legislative control. We draw on a new dataset of stakeholder involvement practices of the full population of EU agencies, compiled via document analysis and interviews. Our findings indicate that stakeholder involvement is a doubleedged sword, contributing to agency accountability and control, but with an inevitable risk of dependence on the regulated industry.
To design regulatory policies, agencies depend on information from the industries they are tasked... more To design regulatory policies, agencies depend on information from the industries they are tasked to regulate. Therefore, agencies can organise consultations with the aim of obtaining information from different perspectives. This article focuses on stakeholder diversity in agency public consultations. We ask to what extent is information provided by stakeholders other than the regulated sector, such as other business interests, experts or nonbusiness interests? Stakeholder diversity is relevant as it may prevent agencies to become exposed to one-sided information and capture by specialised interests. Are there consultation design factors that foster consultation diversity? Or, is (a lack of) consultation diversity structurally shaped by the context in which an agency operates? Analysing a wide range of public consultations organised by European Union regulatory agencies indicates that most information agencies receive via consultations comes from regulated interests and that the lim...
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Papers by Sarah Arras