The European Union and cybercrime: insights from comparative federalism

Abstract:

This article analyses the emergence of a European Union policy on cybercrime from the perspective of comparative federalism. To this end, it draws on insights from federal polities to explain how policy-makers in the United States, Switzerland and the European Union have responded to the challenge posed by criminality on the internet and the impact of different federal structures on policy outcomes. Two claims are put forward: first, we expect to find similarities with regard to interactions among the different levels of government in all three units of analysis; second, we argue that differences in the capabilities of the centre help to account for the variance in policy outcomes. The main conclusion drawn is that although outcomes may vary in some notable respects, the dynamics of policy-making exhibit similarities that make comparison of the European Union with other federal polities particularly revealing.