This book considers two explanations for the rise of the people, parliaments and courts in European Union (EU) treaty making since 1950. The first follows Robert Putnam’s classic two-level game approach by asking whether governments are tying their hands to gain tactical advantages in treaty negotiations. The second sees the transformation of treaty making as a response to – and reflection of – the crisis of legitimacy facing the EU and its member states. This chapter recalls the logic of tying hands in two-level games before offering a trust-based perspective on the EU’s legitimacy problems. It considers – from these theoretical vantage points – why the constitutional rules and norms surrounding treaty making have changed and how national governments might respond to having their hands tied too tightly.