Brexit as Democratic Catalyst: The Rise or the German Länder in the Negotiation

The EU-27 member states negotiated Brexit in unexpected unity under the lead of the Commission chief negotiator. This unity was crucial for the EU’s approach and ability to present a clear set of hierarchical goals and negotiate (from the EU-side) a smooth and frictionless manner. The paper argues that the high consistency, political unity and clear delegation to the EU-level agent were successful because they were not top-down led. Instead, the approach was based on a refined involvement and interaction with relevant national and sub-national actors, including elected representatives on all levels. While the Brexit approach suggests a successful top-down approach, we show that, in fact, success pended on an unprecedented political activation and participation of lower levels in the governance system. We back the argument with an in-depth empirical analysis of the German Brexit negotiation framework that highlights how the 16 Länder used the opportunities for active policy-shaping in a high-politics EU-issue in an unparalleled active manner. The results run therefore counter many long-worn convictions in EU-research, in particular the exclusiveness of high politics and the bias for national executive powers in EU policymaking. Most relevantly, the case of the successful Brexit position formation among the EU-27 elucidates how the legal framework of the Lisbon Treaty enables more effective and legitimate EU policymaking and highlights which scope conditions need to be met in order to activate more multilevel involvement.