Europe matters, but in different ways in different countries. The European Union affects the policy fabric of all member states, but that impact is differential rather than convergent. In some instances, new policy goals have been added to national agendas and fresh policy instruments are applied, while old ones become less important or are openly challenged. In other instances, when European and national policy objectives are concurrent, national practices may be reinforced, or even redirected, by EU policies. In all instances, however, state actors reconsider national policy practices wherever the EU extends it activities. This innovative study solves the differential puzzle by developing a sophisticated theoretical and conceptual framework for studying the impact of European policies on member states. Focusing especially on transport policy, the authors employ extensive interviews and archival research in an empirically rich set of case studies (Britain, France, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands) to demonstrate convincingly that this influence depends on pre-existing policies and institutional capacity to change. Depending on the particular phase of regulation in which a country finds itself and on its institutional flexibility, an identical EU policy has remarkably diverse impacts within individual member states. The authors' research points to fascinating counterintuitive results and a new general model that will have implications for anyone studying policymaking in Europe.

This volume addresses the emergence of multiple legal and law-like arrangements that alter the interaction between states, their delegated agencies, international organizations and non-state actors in international and transnational politics. Political scientists and legal scholars have been addressing the 'legalization' of international regimes and international politics, and engaging in interdisciplinary research on the nature, the causes and the effects of the norm driven controls over different areas and dimensions of global governance. Written by leading contributors in the field, the book claims that the emergence and spread of legal and law-like arrangements contributes to the transformation of world politics, arguing that 'legalization' does not only mean that states co-operate in more or less precise, binding and independent regimes, but also that different types of non-state actors can engage in the framing, definition, implementation and enforcement of legal and law-like norms and rules. To capture these diverse observations, the volume provides an interpretative framework that includes the increase in international law-making, the variation of legal and legalized regimes and the differentiation of legal and law-like arrangements. Law and Legalization in Transnational Relations is of interest to students and researchers of international politics, international relations and law.

This volume addresses the emergence of multiple legal and law-like arrangements that alter the interaction between states, their delegated agencies, international organizations and non-state actors in international and transnational politics. Political scientists and legal scholars have been addressing the 'legalization' of international regimes and international politics, and engaging in interdisciplinary research on the nature, the causes and the effects of the norm driven controls over different areas and dimensions of global governance. Written by leading contributors in the field, the book claims that the emergence and spread of legal and law-like arrangements contributes to the transformation of world politics, arguing that 'legalization' does not only mean that states co-operate in more or less precise, binding and independent regimes, but also that different types of non-state actors can engage in the framing, definition, implementation and enforcement of legal and law-like norms and rules. To capture these diverse observations, the volume provides an interpretative framework that includes the increase in international law-making, the variation of legal and legalized regimes and the differentiation of legal and law-like arrangements. Law and Legalization in Transnational Relations is of interest to students and researchers of international politics, international relations and law.