Researching Customization: The Data, the Methods, and the Cases

Abstract

This chapter introduces the data, methods and cases that form the basis of the empirical study. The research presented here was originally a comparative research project that provided advice to the Swiss federal government about ensuring legal equivalence with community law. In order to explore the patterns, causes and consequences of customization, I employ a nested comparative case study design using innovative set-theoretic methodologies. Veterinary drug policies regulate important aspects of food safety in the EU single market. I compare their customization in four older member states—Austria, France, Germany and the United Kingdom—and the differentially integrated non-member, Switzerland. These countries are comparable in their regulatory contexts, but each of them displays distinct patterns of differentiated implementation.