Transformative Engagement Through Law: The <i>Acquis Communautaire</i> as an Instrument of EU External Influence

The inquiry into the economics, political and legal reasons for third countries to align, or refrain from aligning, their domestic rules, institutions and policies with the acquis communautaire, wholly or partially, falls squarely within the emerging third generation of European integration scholarship - a 'top-out' prism that asks whether and how the European Union's (EU) institutions, rules and policy-making processes impact the laws, institutions, and even identities of third countries beyond Europe.