Formal and Informal Institutions under Codecision: Continuous Constitution-Building in Europe – with Adrienne Hèritier

Current approaches examining the effect of institutions on policy processes have difficulty in explaining the results of the legislative process of codecision between the European Parliament and Council within the European Union. The formal Treaty changes that gave rise to codecision have, in turn, given rise to a plethora of informal institutions, in a process that is difficult to understand using dominant modes of analysis. This article provides a framework for analyzing the relationship between formal and informal institutions, showing how the two may be recursively related. Formal institutional change at a particular moment in time may give rise to informal institutions, which may, in turn, affect the negotiation of future formal institutions. The article applies this framework to the codecision process, showing how the codecision procedure has led to the creation of informal institutions and modes of decision-making, which have affected subsequent Treaty negotiations. Through strategic use of the relationship between formal and informal institutions, the European Parliament has been successful in advancing its interests over time and increasing its role in the legislative process.

Henry Farrell and Adrienne Hèritier (2003), “Formal and Informal Institutions under Codecision: Continuous Constitution-Building in Europe,” Governance, 16, 4:577-600.

Access the full article here

Other Writing:

Academic Article

The Janus Face of the Liberal International Information Order: When Global Institutions are Self-Undermining – with Abraham Newman

Henry Farrell and Abraham Newman (2021), “The Janus Face of the Liberal International Information Order: When Global Institutions are Self-Undermining,” International Organization Vol 75, No.2:333-58 (75th anniversary special issue). Scholars and policymakers long believed that norms of global information openness and private-sector governance helped to sustain and promote liberalism. These norms are being increasingly contested ...
Read Article
Essay

The Most Damaging Election Disinformation Campaign Came From Donald Trump, Not Russia with Bruce Schneier

On November 4, 2016, the hacker “Guccifer 2.0,” a front for Russia’s military intelligence service, claimed in a blogpost that the Democrats were likely to use vulnerabilities to hack the presidential elections. On November 9, 2018, President Donald Trump started tweeting about the senatorial elections in Florida and Arizona. Without any evidence whatsoever, he said ...
Read Article