Interdisciplinary Research Methods in EU Law: A Handbook

This comprehensive Handbook provides a critical and analytical guide to the application of interdisciplinary research methods in EU law and explores the advancement of the EU legal landscape from an interdisciplinary research perspective. Venturing beyond doctrinal legal scholarship, it reflects on the cognitive synergies between EU law and other disciplines, and advances the debate on contemporary trends in EU law research.

Bringing together a carefully selected group of expert authors, this Handbook surveys the ways in which studying and researching EU law has become an increasingly integrative endeavour. It presents key insights from fields traditionally associated with EU law, including history, economics and political science, but also disciplines traditionally less explored by EU lawyers, such as literature, social psychology and data science, thereby offering novel perspectives and epistemological tools that enrich our understanding of the EU and its laws. Showcasing the variety of research questions and methods advancing EU law studies, it provides a systematisation of the diverse approaches to studying the legal order of the EU.

Interdisciplinary Research Methods in EU Law is essential reading for researchers, academics and graduate students of European law and politics, and for those interested in research methods in law. Think tanks, research institutes and practitioners of EU law and related areas will equally benefit from the applied nature of the text.

‘This fresh collection of methodological reflections on EU law brings together an enticing range of voices from different career stages, countries, and interdisciplinary interests. It is set to become a go-to source for ambitious scholars of EU law. My overwhelming feeling while reading the book is one of delight. With these provocations as springboards to new research agendas, the future of the discipline is bright indeed.’ – Tamara Hervey, City University of London, UK

‘This Handbook brings together an impressive line-up of scholars to consider not only how EU law is seen and conceptualised by lawyers but also by non-lawyers. In doing so, the Handbook offers a valuable toolkit to EU law scholars considering or engaging in interdisciplinary research.’ – Rebecca Zahn, University of Strathclyde, UK

‘This book is a very diverse, rich and reflective account of the challenges of interdisciplinarity and the methods used in EU law from a range of perspectives. The book is a great achievement, with many exciting contributions, that will be of use to a range of scholars.’ – Elaine Fahey, City University of London, UK

‘EU law is rapidly re-inventing itself and questioning its own role in the integration process. This Handbook is an indispensable resource to make sense of this process, offering a comprehensive and insightful exploration of the interdisciplinary dimensions that shape the European legal landscape.’ – Floris de Witte, LSE Law School, UK