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Norms, Strategies and Political Change: Explaining the Establishment of the Convention on the Future of Europe

Birkbeck College, University of London, UK

Norms affect political outcomes by shaping the strategies that political actors use to advance their interests. Norms do so by shaping the terms of the debates that underpin political decision making. Unlike existing literature that highlights the importance of persuasion, this article demonstrates that through the mechanism of rhetorical action, norms induce self-interested political actors to adapt their strategy and accept political change that they would normally oppose. The case of the advent of the Convention on the Future of Europe examined here shows that by considering the impact of norms on the behaviour of the opponents of change, ideational analyses can incorporate agency in the explanation of political change.

Key Words: Convention on the Future of Europe • European integration • EU Treaty reform • institutional change • norms

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