This project assesses the role of seconded national officials (SNEs) in the European Political Order via two studies of the decision-making processes of SNEs in the Commission and European External Action Service (EEAS). Both studies are part of the EUROD IV project ('Integration and Division: Towards a Segmented Europe?') at ARENA, and particularly its Thematic Priority 2 'The European executive order at times of crisis' (see http://www.sv.iou.no/arena/english/research/projects/eurodiv/index.html) directe d by Morten Egeberg and Jarle Trondal (i.e. my main hosts at ARENA).
The first aim of the project is to compare SNEs in Commission and EEAS. Most existing research focuses on one institutional environment, which cannot assess how differences in organizati onal structures and cultures, or the share of temporary staff in the institution, affect temporary officials' decision-making. A comparative approach creates variation in such factors. It thus allows inferences about the likely influence of observed chang es in both the number and status of temporary agents in EU institutions during the current crisis. While data on Commission SNEs have been collected during my dissertation, the challenge here is to obtain a comparable dataset on EEAS' SNEs. My contacts wi thin CLENAD (i.e. SNEs' interest organisation) can help achieve this.
The second aim of the project lies in setting up the first comprehensive survey that follows SNEs upon return to their home institution. While such 'returnees' have been ignored in prev ious research, they are critical for evaluating the extent to which any EU socialization - if it occurs at all - persists upon return and, if so, how long and extensively. While such follow-up is inherently challenging given the international mobility of the intended respondents, I can again exploit my contacts at CLENAD and the European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO) to gain access to returned SNEs.