Uniting, or Driving a Wedge? Brexit and its Political Implications for the Visegrad Group

• • 
  • Presentation speakers
    • Monika Brusenbauch Meislová, Faculty of Social Studies, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic

  Abstract:

  With its profound implications, Brexit, marking a milestone in contemporary European politics, is set to be one of the most unique challenges to ever face the European Union (EU) and its member states. While the potential options available for the future relationship between the United Kingdom (UK) and the EU27 as well as Brexit consequences for the EU have been thoroughly discussed, much less attention has been paid to its impact on specific member states (with the possible exception of Ireland, which has been, indeed, covered in extensive detail). This paper researches Brexit’s implications for the Visegrad Group (V4) – a platform of four Central and Eastern European states (the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia) established in 1991 to enhance their mutual cooperation and coordination. There are, indeed, many ways in which the UK’s decision to withdraw from the EU will affect the V4 countries – not only politically and economically, but also socially. Applying the three-dimensional concept of polity, politics and policy, this inquiry explores political aspects of Brexit implications for the V4 in all three dimensions of governance: 1) polity (institutional dimension); 2) policy (the normative substance-based dimension), and 3) politics (procedural dimension). The in-depth analysis explores the repercussions both from short-term and long-term perspectives. At the same time, it also explores the ways in which the Visegrad Group has engaged in the Brexit process and assesses to what extent it has been able to establish a coherent common position and act as a consistent coalition in withdrawal negotiations.

 

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