Abstract
National officials working in international bureaucracies regularly invoke the fear that member states strategically use such officials for influencing decision making and agenda-setting to their advantage. This article theoretically analyses conditions under which the autonomy of national civil servants in international bureaucracies might become compromised. The ensuing predictions are then tested using a unique survey among seconded national experts (SNEs) in the European Commission (N ≈ 400). Finally, evaluating the characteristics linked to reduced autonomy among SNEs in the Commission, the article illustrates that these officials are, in practice, likely to be relatively independent from member state influence.
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Jarle Trondal, Zuzana Murdoch, and Benny Geys
On Trojan Horses and Revolving Doors: Assessing the Autonomy of National Officials in the European Commission
European Journal of Political Research, vol. 54, no. 2, 2015, pp. 249–270
DOI: 10.1111/1475-6765.12080