European networks, domestic governance and the second-order effects of Brexit

Abstract

This article explores the meaning of European network membership for state, substate and non-state actors in the UK. We adopt a comparative research approach to investigate how different UK-based actors use European structures to advance their domestic agendas, taking the Employment Committee, the Committee of the Regions and the European Women's Lobby's Observatory on Violence Against Women as case studies. We analyse new empirical data from interviews with policy actors to identity and explore resource dependencies between network actors. Our findings reveal a range of resource dependencies acting to bind actors within European networks, with the nature and significance of these dependencies varying across network/actor types. We argue that European network membership has notable implications for domestic governance which highlights a range of considerations for domestic governance in the UK post-Brexit.

Differentiation in the European Union in Post‐Brexit and ‐Pandemic Times: Macro‐Level Developments with Meso‐Level Consequences

“…Brexit is a second illustrative case providing evidence on how administrative networks in the EU harbour resources for meso‐level institutional differentiation. Despite polity‐level transformations as with the rupture produced by Brexit, UK‐based actors continued their participation in EU administrative networks, while at the same time exhibiting some variation due to institutional factors (Copeland and Minto, 2021). The scope of meso‐level consequences in terms of policy differentiation becomes evident in the way the post‐Brexit EU fisheries policy took shape.…”