The Parliamentary Dimension of Brexit

Abstract

The United Kingdom exiting the Union opens a veritable can of worms. First studies have been published on the protracted legal procedure to disentangle the intertwined bodies, far from certain that such a split can work at all or at costs that are still bearable. Studies on the loss of Britain as a partner on the international stage have emphasized the loss of political clout of a partner traditionally engaged across the globe and still in a somewhat special relationship with the US. Britain’s absence in certain policy fields, so the speculation, can either have detrimental effects or boost a deeper integration in those fields. System-wide the retreat of Britain can trigger the same: greater cohesion or the emergence of copy-cats. What has been side-lined in the debate so far, is the parliamentary dimension of Brexit. What does the loss of British parliamentary expertise mean on three levels: (1) the emerging parliamentary field, i.e. horizontal parliamentarism; (2) The European Parliament, and (3) the British national level. The panel seeks to explore this dimension by bringing together political science and legal scholars.