Selective Reconstruction: Re-Engagement in the Post-Brexit UK-EU Security Relationship

The United Kingdom's departure from the European Union has significantly reshaped the UK–EU security relationship, including both foreign, security and defence policy and police and judicial co-operation in criminal matters. Whilst Brexit has mainly been discussed in the academic literature as a form of disengagement from the EU, recent developments indicate a nuanced process of selective reconstruction and re-engagement in the current post-Brexit period. This editorial introduces the concept of ‘re-engagement’ as a distinct analytical framework to capture the unique dynamics emerging in the wake of Brexit, which are distinct from both prior EU membership and the disengagement experienced during the withdrawal period. Specifically, it proposes seven characteristics of re-engagement that can contribute to a greater understanding of post-Brexit security co-operation: (1) the perceived directionality of the co-operation, (2) increased re-institutionalisation incentives, (3) political path dependence, (4) temporal distance, (5) institutional change, (6) alternatives to re-engagement and (7) sustainability. By reflecting on these seven characteristics in the context of contemporary developments in the UK–EU security relationship, the editorial underscores how past political trajectories and evolving geopolitical contexts, such as the Ukraine war, have shaped current co-operative practices and enabled different outcomes for different policy areas within the UK–EU security relationship.