This paper analyzes multilateral aid allocation in the European Union (EU). We argue that EU members can influence the aid allocation process towards their national interests if they form powerful coalitions that bias the European Commission's development policies. When EU members' preferences...

This paper analyzes electoral cycles in distributional bargaining in the European Union. I argue that governments attempt to increase their EU membership benefits above average levels in the pre-election period hoping to appear politically competent to their voters. The theory discusses when and...

Conflicts between EU members about enlargement result from its re-distributive effects. EU members are more likely to suffer from enlargement if they profit from EU transfers and if they are relatively close to applicant countries in which unemployment is significantly higher than in member...

This paper perceives the politics of EU eastern enlargement to be a twofold process, in which governments of transition countries decide whether or not to apply for membership and in turn EU members decide whether or not to accept these applicants. Specifically, we argue that the level of...