Modern international institutions allow small states to increase their voices whilst restricting personal autonomy. Rational Choice Institutionalism expects small states to participate in...Show moreModern international institutions allow small states to increase their voices whilst restricting personal autonomy. Rational Choice Institutionalism expects small states to participate in institutions such as the European Council to avert possible security risks which result from climate change (i.e. through Green Deal negotiations). This thesis delves into the bargaining behaviour of small states and what factors can explain their efforts. In particular, it expects them to use different strategies to address what makes them differ from their larger counterparts. In short, this work examines if administrative capacity cleavages and institutional power asymmetries drive them to use different shaping and capacity-building strategies. Institutionalised learning, prioritisation, coalition-building and agenda-setting efforts are studied using relational content analysis. While institutionalised learning and coalition-building efforts (are found to) correlate with administrative capacity and institutional leverage (respectively), additional external influences remain of consequence to this study. Prioritisation and agenda-setting efforts appear to be influenced more by factors such as the Council Presidency and domestic political factors.Show less
The European Commission has recently initiated a comprehensive Green Deal with the objective of enhancing the environmental sustainability of agriculture, promoting nature inclusivity, and...Show moreThe European Commission has recently initiated a comprehensive Green Deal with the objective of enhancing the environmental sustainability of agriculture, promoting nature inclusivity, and facilitating the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions. However, much controversy has been surrounding the formulation of its Farm to Fork (F2) Strategy policy objectives due to incompatible perspectives regarding the envisioned future sustainable food system between the involved actors and the European Commission. This, therefore, raises the question of what is the role of expert knowledge in the realm of EU policymaking? Moreover, what factors influence the Commission’s utilisation of expert knowledge? The utilisation of expert knowledge has been a topic of academic debate in the social sciences. The scholarly discourse pertaining to the role of expert knowledge in the realm of public policymaking processes, and in particular in the EU context, is abundant in theoretical frameworks; however, it also lacks consistency in defining and explaining the role of expert knowledge in public policymaking. This study aims to address the gap in existing literature by improving the understanding of knowledge utilisation and its features in the context of a new EU policy case. The research question seeks to determine the Commission’s utilisation of expert knowledge in the preparation of the Farm to Fork Strategy and explain whether the combination of internal and external dynamics account for the anticipated type of knowledge utilisation. The study focuses on a single case to achieve the theoretical objectives of demonstrating a causal relationship and examining whether the causal process occurred as anticipated. The study focuses on the timeframe from 2016 to 2021, coinciding with the first mandate of the EU Platform on Food Losses and Waste (FLW) and its efforts towards food waste policies, which were subsequently integrated into the F2F Strategy.Show less
