Democracy Versus Diplomacy? The Involvement of External Actors in Trilogue Negotiations

Abstract This article examines the role of external actors in shaping trilogue practices, using the Copyright in the Digital Single Market (DSM) directive adopted in 2019 as a case study. Building on Roederer‐Rynning and Greenwood's conceptualisation of trilogues as ‘politicised diplomacy’, it identifies two distinct categories of external actors: French and German heads of state and digital activists. Whilst state leaders reinforced a diplomatic logic through closed‐door negotiations, digital activists introduced a democratic logic, employing protest actions to demand transparency and inclusivity. These dynamics disrupted the usual functioning of the Eurocratic space. The article contributes to the practice‐theory framework by foregrounding a democratic logic alongside the established parliamentary and diplomatic logics. It offers a nuanced perspective on trilogues as socially constructed spaces and highlights the evolving role of external actors in European legislative processes.