Ph.d.-profil: Sjoerd de Winter

Understanding Norway’s wriggle room means uncovering how non-members can shape outcomes even within the tight grip of supranational frameworks".

My PhD project focuses on the fascinating relationship between Norway and the European Union. Even though Norway has voted ‘no’ to EU-membership twice already, it ended up becoming one of the most deeply integrated non-members through a large number of agreements – most notably, the European Economic Area Agreement. What makes this relationship both intriguing and puzzling, is the fact that Norway adopts an incredible amount of EU legislation (well over 75%), yet has little to no decision-making power. Of course, we can safely assume that Norwegian actors will try to shape this legislation in their benefits, and we do see formal structures that facilitate this (i.e., the two-pillar system of the EEA Agreement; the European External Action Services; and the Permanent Representation of Norway to the EU). However, these processes are complex and time-consuming, which may render them ineffective in times of urgency when decisions must made on a much more ad hoc basis. How does this then effect the autonomy of Norway? This is precisely the focus of my PhD project: How do crises affect this autonomy under the constraints of the legally regulated affiliation with this supranational union of which it is not a member?

My research engages with a variety of concepts related to autonomy, most notably ‘wriggle room’, which is a means for capturing how much autonomy states can obtain under various forms of legally binding interstate and supranational collaboration. In more empirical terms, it refers to the ability of non-member states to operate within the constraints of its EU legally regulated affiliation at all stages. In other words, it’s a sub-category of the broader concept of autonomy. If we consider this broader concept to be a country’s “will and capacity”, or as “having choices and an ability to will choices”, then ‘wriggle room’ reflects the ability to navigate, exploit, or even expand those choices within the constraints imposed by external agreements or affiliations. So, it captures this balance between adhering to binding rules and finding opportunities to assert independent agency, particularly in situations where formal membership in a supranational entity (the European Union) is absent, but considerable interdependence exists.

For my research, I look into different foreign policy crises. For instance, the struggle for Norway to be included in the EU’s vaccine procurement during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine which gave the EU an expanded NATO dimension and a stronger role as a security actor. I draw my conclusions from analyzed data that I derived from expert interviews and documents. With that in mind, this project is entirely based on qualitative research. Should you be interested in my research or have and questions or ideas, feel free to reach out to me by email.