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There and Back Again: How UK–EU De‐Institutionalisation After Brexit Shaped Re‐Engagement After Ukraine

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  • Monika Sus
  • Benjamin Martill

Abstract

Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 disrupted the status quo of the European security order and brought about a re‐engagement in the UK–EU security relationship. However, co‐operation remains informal and ad hoc in ways that diverge from theoretical expectations of security co‐operation in the face of external threats. Applying insights from Historical Institutionalism and drawing on semi‐structured elite interviews with UK and EU officials from 2017 to 2023, our article explains why a shock as severe as the Russian invasion was not sufficient to bring about the wholesale renewal of UK–EU co‐operation. Our analysis demonstrates that the exogenous shock of conflict interacted with path‐dependent dynamics stemming from the Brexit process, shaping the institutional outcomes and limiting co‐operation in important ways. We show that co‐operation has intensified only when problematic Brexit legacies have been removed, arguing that UK–EU security re‐engagement represents a phased process rather than a linear one.

Suggested Citation

  • Monika Sus & Benjamin Martill, 2026. "There and Back Again: How UK–EU De‐Institutionalisation After Brexit Shaped Re‐Engagement After Ukraine," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 64(1), pages 371-386, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jcmkts:v:64:y:2026:i:1:p:371-386
    DOI: 10.1111/jcms.13694
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Stephanie C. Hofmann & Frédéric Mérand, 2020. "In Search of Lost Time: Memory‐framing, Bilateral Identity‐making, and European Security," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 58(1), pages 155-171, January.
    2. Øyvind Svendsen & Rebecca Adler‐Nissen, 2019. "Differentiated (Dis)integration in Practice: The Diplomacy of Brexit and the Low Politics of High Politics," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 57(6), pages 1419-1430, November.
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