This article seeks to explain why powerful governance-seekers select the European rule rather than any other rule available to them. Building upon explanatory mechanisms put forward in the Europeanization literature, the article proposes a conceptual framework in which rule transfer is a function of three variables: the domestic preference of the governance-seeker; the comparative properties of the various rules in competition; and the power distribution between governance-seekers and governance-providers. On this basis, two explanatory hypotheses are formulated, labelled Europe-by-force (or constraint-based rule transfer) and Europe-by-choice (or consent-based rule transfer), which are then tested thanks to four comparative case studies dedicated to the transfer of European rules and standards towards the People's Republic of China.
European Foreign Affairs Review