ABSTRACT
This chapter shows that small states have indeed good chances to punch above their weight if people actively participate in negotiations and if the conditions for the effectiveness of the applied strategies. Coalitions clustered along the major cleavage and were relatively stable over time. At the same time, states did not enter into strategic bilateral partnerships. Also, since neutral states, such as Ireland and Luxembourg, could not provide an expertise-based compromise proposal, due to the political and non-technical character of the conflict, honest brokerage did not occur. The highly contentious negotiations of the European Union (EU) spirit drinks regulation illustrated that small states can use the same array of strategies as their bigger counterparts and can shape outcomes via arguing in multiple arenas. This chapter presents the case study of the Vodka and the pesticides' negotiations, which was started in 2005 and 2006 and were concluded in January 2008 and in September 2009.
