Burn after leaving? Recognition denial as strategy in the post-Brexit security relationship

Prominent examples of withdrawal from IOs raise the question of how actors seek to validate their role after exit. IOs may seek legitimation either through the exclusion of the departing state or continued engagement in their activities, while departing states may validate withdrawal through continued engagement or the denial of recognition. This article claims legitimation strategies are shaped by the policy domain, with external differentiation, institutional overlap and contingent actorness making IOs more susceptible to recognition denial and thus more likely to seek continued engagement. The article demonstrates this empirically through the UKEU security relationship post-Brexit, drawing on interviews with both sides. We show how Britain’s potential contribution to EU security underscored a desire to keep Britain involved, but that politicisation in the UK brought led the Johnson government to pursue a deliberate strategy of recognition denial. Our findings help explain why actors seek different legitimation strategies after withdrawal.