The limits of passive power: competition law in Singapore and the EU's global legal influence

Abstract

As the United States retreats from global rule-making, the European Union (EU) must decide whether to shape global legal regimes actively or rely on its market power. Optimists claim that EU norms spread passively as a result of the Brussels Effect (BE), while sceptics point to transnational processes such as conditionality, policy learning and hybridization-core to Transnational Legal Orders (TLO) theory. This article tests these competing explanations in a doubly most likely case: competition policy, where BE is seen as pervasive, and Singapore, cited as a model BE case. The findings support TLO theory over BE. Although Singapore's competition law includes EU-like provisions, these are not the result of BE-style diffusion but emerge from broader transnational interactions. This suggests that the EU cannot rely on passive regulatory spillovers to extend its legal influence. Active engagement remains necessary to sustain global convergence with EU norms.