United we stood, divided we transform? Exploring coalition transformation divergence in the EU trade policy field

ABSTRACT

During the EU-US (TTIP) and EU–Canada (CETA) free trade negotiations, large coalitions of civil society organisations were active not only across borders but also within European member states. In several countries, coalitions saw the opportunity to transform their issue-specific group into a general coalition on EU trade policy in order to achieve more sustained engagement. However, in hindsight, only some of the transformed coalitions remained active and visible with the same organisations, while others experienced a decline in visibility, activities, and membership. This study aims to explore the factors contributing to this divergence in coalition transformation, drawing on the literature from social movement and interest group studies. Based on interviews with trade activists in Belgium and the Netherlands, the analysis points to differences in perception of political and discursive opportunities, resource mobilisation, the degree of ideological and cultural overlap between the coalition’s actors, and organisational structure as important factors.

KEYWORDS:

• Coalitions
• interest groups
• EU trade policy
• NGOs
• trade unions
• social movements

Acknowledgements

The author wishes to thank the three anonymous reviewers, and the participants at the ECPR Joint Sessions and the SGEU 2022 for their insightful comments and feedback.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 https://www.nl-investmentconsulting.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/borderlex-CETA-ratification-in-Dutch-Parliament.pdf

2 In a February 2023, it supported a government resolution to accelerate the EU’s trade agenda, in particular its FTAs.

3 https://pro.politico.eu/news/paul-magnette-belgium-wallonia-returns-to-spoil-europe-free-trade-agenda

4 https://www.euractiv.com/section/energy/news/energy-charter-treaty-strikes-again-as-uniper-sues-netherlands-over-coal-phase-out/

5 This is less the case in Wallonia, where several farming organizations are less commercially and export-oriented, and focus on ecologically sustainable ways of farming.

6 https://11.be/sites/default/files/2020-12/Beleidsstandpunt%20over%20het%20Energiehandvestverdrag.pdf

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Fonds De La Recherche Scientifique - FNRS.

Notes on contributors

Niels Gheyle

Niels Gheyle is a postdoctoral researcher at the Institut de sciences politiques Louvain-Europe (ISPOLE), Université Catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain).