Route 66: Mutations of the internal market explored through the prism of citation networks

Abstract The article rethinks the mutation of the internal market, charting its metamorphosis from a free trade area to a maze of common policies. It examines the case law of the European Court of Justice from a novel, structural perspective which uses community detection techniques to shed new light on this amply theorized process. The analysis reveals an irreversible shift in the method of integration, from a de-regulatory removal of national rules obstructing free movement (liberalization) to a re-regulatory adoption of common rules and standards promoting free movement (harmonization). The shift, which occurred between 2007 and 2010, signals a new rationale of integration and a reprioritization of the European Union’s economic and non-economic objectives. Finally, the article questions whether said shift calls for a new authorization of Europe to regulate.