Introduction: theoretical framework and research agenda

This chapter introduces the theoretical framework and research agenda of the book. It provides an overview of the three contemporaneous trends from which the book departs: the development of experimentalist governance within the EU; the EU’s efforts to extend its rules, norms, standards, and governance processes to third countries and global institutions; and the emergence of experimentalist regimes in transnational governance. It then goes on to identify the key research questions arising from the relationship between these three trends, focusing on how far the EU’s attempts to expand the geographical scope of its internal rules, norms, and governance processes contribute positively or negatively to the development of experimentalism in transnational regulation, and through which institutional channels, pathways, and mechanisms are regulated. The chapter concludes with a brief preview and explanation of the design of the volume.