The Brussels Effect: How the European Union Rules the World

by Anu Bradford

Overview

For many observers, the European Union is mired in a deep crisis. Between sluggish growth; political turmoil following a decade of austerity politics; Brexit; and the rise of Asian influence, the EU is seen as a declining power on the world stage.

Columbia Law professor Anu Bradford argues the opposite in her important new book The Brussels Effect: the EU remains an influential superpower that shapes the world in its image. By promulgating regulations that shape the international business environment, elevating standards worldwide, and leading to a notable Europeanization of many important aspects of global commerce, the EU has managed to shape policy in areas such as data privacy, consumer health and safety, environmental protection, antitrust, and online hate speech. And in contrast to how superpowers wield their global influence, the Brussels Effect - a phrase first coined by Bradford in 2012- absolves the EU from playing a direct role in imposing standards, as market forces alone are often sufficient as multinational companies voluntarily extend the EU rule to govern their global operations.

The Brussels Effect shows how the EU has acquired such power, why multinational companies use EU standards as global standards, and why the EU's role as the world's regulator is likely to outlive its gradual economic decline, extending the EU's influence long into the future.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780190088583
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	03/02/2020
Pages:	424
Sales rank:	1,027,502
Product dimensions:	6.40(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.60(d)

About the Author

Anu Bradford is the Henry L. Moses Professor of Law and International Organization at Columbia Law School. She is also a director for the European Legal Studies Center and a senior scholar at the Jerome A. Chazen Institute for Global Business. Her research and teaching focus on European Union law, international trade law, and comparative and international antitrust law. Before joining the Law School faculty in 2012, she was an assistant professor at the University of Chicago Law School.

Table of Contents

Introduction: The Brussels Effect

Preface to Part One: Theory
Chapter 1. How the EU Became a Global Regulatory Power
Chapter 2. The Brussels Effect
Chapter 3. The Brussels Effect in Context

Preface to Part Two: Case Studies
Chapter 4. Market Competition
Chapter 5. Digital Economy
Chapter 6. Consumer Health and Safety
Chapter 7. Environment

Preface to Part Three: Assessment
Chapter 8. Is the Brussels Effect Beneficial?
Chapter 9. The Future of the Brussels Effect

Editorial Reviews

"Bradford makes her case with verve, and with a great eye for detail." — Jan Klabbers, European Journal of International Law

Listed as one of the Best Books of 2020 by Foreign Affairs

"This may well be the single most important book on Europe's influence to appear in a decade." — Andrew Moravcsik, Foreign Affairs

"The author of this book, a scholar of extraordinary authority, overturns existing stereotypes and demonstrates how the European Union has become the only authority capable of dictating the rules that guide the behavior of world economic life. In the crisis of international cooperation, Brussels builds the rules that are progressively adopted by global markets. A Europe that exercises its authority not with muscles but with a refined blend of brains and experience." — Romano Prodi, formerly President of the European Commission and Prime Minister of Italy

"Anu Bradford, a professor at Columbia University, originally coined the term "Brussel Effect" and has been studying it for several years. Her impressive book assembles evidence going back decades, tracing its development from the "Reach" chemicals regulation, developed in the early 2000s, to the digital age. ... What is incontrovertible is that the Brussels effect has dominated global economic regulation to an under-appreciated extent. This book will be the definitive reference guide for those wishing to understand." — Alan Beattie, Financial Times

"Developing her earlier work and, in turn, Vogel's ground-breaking study of the "California Effect", Bradford argues brilliantly—without ignoring the external and internal challenges faced by the EU—the extent to which the "Brussels Effect" (i.e. the EU's unilateral power to regulate global markets) has operated in many foreign jurisdictions, including the US and China ... Bradford's tour de force is to combine a dense number of facts and information with a vivid analysis." — Julien Miéral, European Law Review

"Anu Bradford's The Brussels Effect is essential reading for anyone interested in Europe's place in the world. Decried as a powerless entity, vainly committed to multilateralism, Bradford shows how the EU has, in fact, turned unilateral regulatory measures into a source of global economic clout. A timely and powerful antidote to prevailing euro-pessimism." — Adam Tooze, author of Crashed and Director of the European Institute, Columbia University

"This book is both timely and important. I have frequently witnessed the Brussels Effect in many areas, including data privacy, trade, the digital economy and consumer and food safety, where the EU increasingly sets global standards. Professor Bradford describes in a detailed and engaging style why the EU is a global regulatory superpower that shapes the world in its own image. This book is of great relevance, not just for an academic audience but also for businesses and policy makers around the world. This book clearly explains the nature of the EU's often under-appreciated 'quiet influence." — Anthony Gardner, former US Ambassador to the European Union

"Finally! A book that carefully and systematically documents the European Union's power in the world and challenges us to rethink how we define power in the process. The Brussels Effect is a tour de force; a study that will establish a new benchmark for scholars and serve as a major stumbling block for prophets of European decline." — Anne-Marie Slaughter, CEO, New America

"In The Brussels Effect, Anu Bradford has developed her brilliant and insightful theory of the European Union's global power into a fascinating and thorough account of the ways in which EU rules are transformed into global standards through market mechanisms. This book, like her earlier work, will be widely read and highly influential in policy as well as scholarly debates." — Gráinne de Búrca, Florence Ellinwood Allen Professor of Law, New York University

"The Brussels Effect is an important book that challenges us to rethink the impact of the EU on the global economy. Bradford has made a creative and original contribution to the literature on business regulation. Her well-documented and clearly written study shows how and why the EU has become the world's most influential regulator, shaping both business practices and public policies well beyond its borders." — David Vogel, Solomon P. Lee Chair Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Business Ethics, University of California Berkley

"In The Brussels Effect, Anu Bradford offers a perceptive analysis of the influence the EU can and must have well beyond its borders. With global governance being challenged, the Brussels Effect is filling a desperately needed void. It gives us yet another reason why we cannot afford to have the European ambitions fail." — Paul Polman, Co-founder, IMAGINE and Chair, International Chamber of Commerce, Former CEO of Unilever

From the Publisher