Browsing by Author "Rantanen, Roosa"

There is almost universal agreement that small states in the European Union face disadvantages in shaping European policies due to their limited bargaining powers and constrained financial resources necessary for building up policy expertise and exerting influence. This thesis challenges this view by arguing that the smaller EU member states can have a significant influence on the EU’s policies. This thesis argues that small states must respond to the changing conditions of the EU and improve their traditional polices by using a smart state strategy, which utilises small state weakness to gain influence and to counter size related difficulties. I outline the three types of the smart state strategy and illustrate the applicability of the strategies to explain how small member states can influence greater influence than expected. Illustrations will be drawn from Sweden and Finland, analysing their influence on environmental policies. This thesis will use rational choice institutionalism theory and the comparative methodology to analyse the different tactics that small states can use to influence outcomes in EU policy-making, thus I rely on existing theory to make an empirical contribution to the field. The results of the analysis show that the strategy of the state as a lobbyist is the most effective for smaller member states to increase their influence in the EU, with regard to environmental policies.