Market power Europe: exploring a dynamic conceptual framework

Abstract

The conceptualization of the European Union (EU) as Market Power Europe reflects an understanding that the EU most consequentially affects the international system by externalizing its internal market-related policies and regulatory measures. While considerable evidence exists to support such an exercise of power, further elaboration of the conceptualization reveals a number of ways in which it may contribute to the EU as a Power debates. This article undertakes a crucial stock-taking exercise for employing Market Power Europe as a dynamic conceptual framework for understanding and researching the EU as a power. The findings suggest that the conceptualization may improve analytical clarity and advance our empirical and theoretical understanding of the EU's external relations across various policy areas.These insights on the dynamic nature of the conceptualization as an analytical tool reveal important considerations for future scholarly work on the EU as a global regulator and beyond.

Transnational Bureaucratic Politics: An Institutional Rivalry Perspective on Eu Network Governance

“…By ‘getting other actors to behave in a way that generally satisfies or conforms to European rules’ (Damro , p. 1344, emphasis in original), externalization of EU regulatory regimes occurs not only among neighbouring countries. The economic power of the single market as well as the normative power of European governance principles and values, such as democracy, human rights, rule of law and modes of cooperation (Newman and Posner ), have enabled the EU to set rules and standards for global markets (Young ).…”

Import Restrictions and Food‐Safety Regulations: Insight from Brazil

“…There are several ways in which the EU can influence the regulations of other states (for an overview, see Young, ). Furthermore, there exists in principle the possibility that importing states attempt to influence the regulatory standards of the EU when negotiating trade agreements (Damro, ; Dür, ). Still, the literature suggests that there are only few such attempts and that they are unlikely to succeed due to the EU's economic power (Meunier & Nicolaïdis, ).…”

Market Power Europe and the Externalization of Higher Education

“…As suggested by the definition of externalization above, the original formulation of MPE identified the ‘subjects’ of externalization as the EU's economic and social market‐related policies and regulatory measures. These subjects of externalization – some of which liberalize the market and some of which constrain market actors – can be broadly interpreted to cover all types of internal EU legislation and instruments (Damro, ). They may also be thought of as a range of policies and measures the EU externalizes, running from directly market‐related to indirectly market‐related.…”