“Towards a contingency theory of the presidency: Revisiting Nice"

Based on contingency theory, this article elaborates a conceptual framework aimed at deepening understanding of the presidency of the Council. The available literature on the presidency assumes that it should mainly serve decision-making. This does not do justice for the different roles and services of the chair. Below we present hypotheses on the demand for, and supply of, presidency roles. To test the relevance, we use the contingency framework to reassess the behavior of the French Presidency during the IGC negotiations at Nice. The evaluation based on the presented contingency theory offers a structured evaluation of the of the French Presidency and links behavior to the specificities of the actual negotiations. Despite the current reform discussions, a more realistic understanding of the presidency and a theory to link its behavior to demand and supply conditions continue to be relevant as the rotating chair will remain-one way or the other