Saurugger and Radaelli (2008) assure that europeanization is wider than implementing EU decisions. “It encompasses processes of construction, diffusion and institutionalization of formal and informal rules, procedures, policy paradigms, styles, ‘ways of doing things’ and shared beliefs and norms”

Usually, europeanization is related to changes. The influence of Europe leads national member government to adapt their rules, paradigms, styles, outcomes… to the European ones. In this sense, the concept of Europeanisation joins other branches of academic literature devoted to study and explain policy-making processes. Among those: multiple streams, critical junctures, advocacy coalitions and triggering events.

One particular set of studies devoted to analyse the role of the EU on changes and what is called comparative policy analysis of Europeanisation (Saurugger and Radaelli 2008:213).

A brief review of this set of knowledge shows that some typologies of studies can be drawn on the basis of key dimensions:

1. A division between those studies of policy changes focuses in outcomes or changes in processes.

2. If a distinction among policy phases is done. A bulk of analyses paid attention to implementation but also to changes in the process of agenda setting and policy formation.

3. The shape and mechanisms through which the EU impact on European countries can be singled out as another group of case analyses. There, we have how Europe (norms, regulations and directives) and other measures of EU compulsion (courts of justice and sanctions) pressure national EU governments and policy. And an extensive literature on the goodness of fit has been developed. A second branch, pays attention to the EU influence in shaping ideas who enter the agenda or the policy formation process or through other mechanisms such as policy learning (through teams or other forms of cooperation). Here it comes for example the literature on emulation or normative socialisation (Zahariadis 2005)

4. Another bulk of research focuses on the scope of change. How the process of Europeanisation relate to variables such as time (fast or slow change); marginal/radical or small/big. (Dimitrakopoulos)

5. An a last group of studies pay attention to discourses. How member states discourses incorporate the ideas of EU discourse and practice.  

This article reviews the literature on Europeanization in the area of Justice and Home Affairs and, particularly, on immigration policy. The aim of this literature review is to classify all those studies within those typologies mentioned above.