Systematic content analysis of EU internal market law and governance

Book section : Chapter

This chapter delves into the application of Systematic Content Analysis (SCA) when studying EU internal market law and governance. It consists of four parts. Section 18.1 offers an introduction to SCA, presenting its definition and tracing its historical development as a legal methodology. Section 18.2 argues that SCA is a natural choice for studying internal market law given its inherent ambiguity, intricate multi-level governance system, and the limited transparency surrounding the implementation of EU law. Section 18.3 surveys the usage of SCA in legal scholarship on the internal market (1957–2023). It shows the growing trend in usage of SCA, identifying the most important areas of research, types of research questions and data coded, as well as the academic actors and institutions involved. The chapter concludes with a brief discussion on the future of SCA as a legal methodology for studying EU internal law and governance, advocating a greater emphasis on transparency requirements in the application of EU law.

Authors: Brook, O

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Reviewed (other)
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Host title: Empirical Legal Studies in EU Law
• Pages: 364-382
• Chapter number: 18
• Publication date: 2026-04-08
• DOI: 10.1017/9781009672580.022
• EISBN: 9781009672580
• ISBN: 9781009672573
• Language: English
• Keywords: empirical legal research; systematic content analysis; EU internal market; legal text
• Subtype: Chapter