CSS Solved Political Science 2026 Past Paper | Implications of Brexit on the European Union
The following question from CSS Political Science 2026 is solved by Miss Ayesha Irfan, a renowned CSS coach for Islamiat and Political Science. Moreover, the question is attempted using the same pattern taught by Sir Syed Kazim Ali to his students, who have scored the highest marks in compulsory and optional subjects for years. This solved past paper question is uploaded to help aspirants understand how to crack a topic or question, write relevantly, what coherence is, and how to include and connect ideas, opinions, and suggestions to score the maximum.
Question Breakdown
The question asks candidates to critically examine how the withdrawal of the European Union by the United Kingdom has affected two major dimensions: first, the internal integration process of the EU, including political cohesion, institutional dynamics, economic cooperation, and future enlargement or disintegration trends; and second, the EU’s external or global influence, such as its diplomatic weight, economic power, security role, and standing in international politics. The answer should move beyond a description of Brexit and analytically assess both challenges and potential opportunities for the EU.
Outline
1- Introduction
2- Shockwaves Within: Brexit and the Future of European Integration
- Unity Tested or Unity Strengthened? The Politics of Cohesion
- Power Rebalanced: New Leadership Geometry Inside the EU
- Markets Without London: Economic and Financial Realignments
- From Dependence to Autonomy: Rethinking European Security
- Exit or Evolution? Brexit and the Debate on Enlargement and Disintegration
3- Europe on the World Stage: Brexit and the EU’s Global Influence
- Smaller Market, Sharper Strategy? The EU’s Global Trade Weight
- Diplomacy Without Britain: Loss or Reinvention of Soft Power?
- Strategic Actor or Fragmented Bloc? Europe in Geopolitical Competition
- Crisis of Confidence or Proof of Resilience? The EU as a Model of Integration
4- Critical Analysis: Brexit as Both a Fracture and a Forge
5- Conclusion
Answer to the Question
Introduction
The withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union in January 2020 marked an unprecedented turning point in the history of European integration. Brexit was not merely a constitutional or economic separation; it represented a structural shock to a regional project built on the assumption of gradual and irreversible unity. The UK had been one of the Union’s largest economies, accounting for roughly 15 percent of EU GDP and nearly 13 percent of its population before withdrawal. Consequently, Brexit raised two interconnected questions: whether the EU’s internal integration process would weaken or consolidate, and whether its global influence would decline or adapt. The implications reveal a paradoxical reality in which Brexit simultaneously disrupted the European project and compelled it toward institutional recalibration.
Shockwaves Within: Brexit and the Future of European Integration
- Unity Tested or Unity Strengthened? The Politics of Cohesion
Initially, Brexit appeared to threaten political cohesion by emboldening Eurosceptic movements across Europe. Parties in France, Italy, and the Netherlands briefly invoked the possibility of their own exits, generating fears of institutional fragmentation. However, the anticipated domino effect never materialized. Instead, public opinion gradually shifted in favour of the EU. Eurobarometer surveys after 2020 showed support for membership exceeding 65 percent in several states, reflecting growing recognition of the economic uncertainty and trade disruptions faced by the UK. Thus, rather than accelerating disintegration, Brexit exposed the practical costs of withdrawal and indirectly reinforced political solidarity among remaining members.
- Power Rebalanced: New Leadership Geometry Inside the EU
Brexit also altered the internal balance of power. The UK had historically promoted market liberalization and resisted deeper political federalism, often acting as a counterweight to integrationist ambitions led by France and Germany. With Britain’s departure, this balancing force disappeared, enabling stronger Franco-German leadership within EU institutions. As a result, initiatives such as coordinated recovery funding, climate transition policies, and defence cooperation progressed with fewer ideological constraints. Therefore, Brexit paradoxically streamlined decision-making by removing a major internal dissenting actor.
- Markets Without London: Economic and Financial Realignments
Economically, the EU lost its largest financial centre and a major budget contributor. The UK’s net contribution had averaged €10–12 billion annually, creating a fiscal gap that required adjustments in member contributions and spending priorities. Moreover, London had dominated European finance, handling nearly 40 percent of EU capital market activity before Brexit. Yet financial realignment followed quickly. Amsterdam became Europe’s leading share-trading hub in 2021, while Paris and Frankfurt attracted substantial banking assets and investment operations. At the same time, intra-EU trade integration deepened as supply chains increasingly shifted toward continental markets. Hence, although Brexit disrupted economic structures, it also accelerated diversification and institutional financial autonomy within the EU.
- From Dependence to Autonomy: Rethinking European Security
In security terms, the UK’s departure removed one of Europe’s most capable military powers, responsible for approximately a quarter of European defence spending and possessing advanced intelligence capabilities. Initially, this raised concerns about diminished strategic capacity. However, Brexit also removed one of the strongest opponents of deeper EU-level defence integration. Consequently, initiatives promoting European strategic autonomy gained momentum, including joint defence procurement frameworks and expanded military coordination programs. While NATO remains the primary security architecture, the EU increasingly pursues complementary defence capabilities, demonstrating how Brexit encouraged a shift from reliance on British military strength toward collective European responsibility.
- Exit or Evolution? Brexit and the Debate on Enlargement and Disintegration
Brexit revived theoretical debates about whether the EU faced gradual disintegration or adaptive evolution. While critics framed the withdrawal as proof of structural fragility, the EU’s institutional response suggested otherwise. Enlargement discussions with Balkan candidates continued, and accession negotiations remained active, signalling that the integration project retained forward momentum. Rather than triggering exits, Brexit served as a cautionary example, reinforcing institutional safeguards and clarifying the costs of separation. Thus, the event ultimately strengthened the EU’s identity as a rules-based political and economic union.
Europe on the World Stage: Brexit and the EU’s Global Influence
- Smaller Market, Sharper Strategy? The EU’s Global Trade Weight
Brexit reduced the European Union’s demographic and economic size, yet it did not erase its structural trade power. Even after the departure of the United Kingdom, the EU remains one of the world’s largest trading blocs, representing roughly 450 million consumers and accounting for about 15 percent of global trade. This scale continues to give the Union formidable negotiating leverage.
For example, the EU successfully implemented major trade agreements such as the EU–Japan Economic Partnership Agreement, one of the world’s largest bilateral trade deals, and expanded the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement with Canada. Additionally, the EU has used its market power to enforce regulatory influence globally. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) compelled multinational firms, including American tech companies, to adjust global privacy policies to comply with EU standards. These cases illustrate that while Brexit made the EU numerically smaller, it sharpened the Union’s reliance on regulatory and market-based influence, preserving its central role in shaping global trade norms.
- Diplomacy Without Britain: Loss or Reinvention of Soft Power?
Furthermore, the departure of Britain removed a state with a vast diplomatic network, historical Commonwealth ties, and a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council, thereby reducing the EU’s aggregate diplomatic reach. British embassies and global intelligence partnerships had often amplified European foreign policy influence.
However, the EU has increasingly compensated through institutional diplomacy. For instance, during negotiations on the Iran nuclear issue revival talks, EU representatives played coordinating roles between global powers, demonstrating the Union’s continued diplomatic relevance. Similarly, the EU remains the world’s largest provider of development assistance, collectively contributing over 70 billion Euros annually in foreign aid. Its humanitarian leadership in crises, such as funding refugee assistance programs for Syrian displaced populations, further reinforces its soft-power credentials. Thus, Brexit weakened traditional diplomatic projection but pushed the EU toward more institutionalized and collective diplomatic engagement.
- Strategic Actor or Fragmented Bloc? Europe in Geopolitical Competition
In an increasingly competitive geopolitical environment shaped by US–China rivalry, Brexit raised fears that Europe might lose strategic coherence. Britain had long been one of Europe’s strongest military powers and a key voice in transatlantic security relations.
Yet, subsequent events indicate that the EU can still act collectively in strategic matters. For example, the EU coordinated unified sanctions packages against Russia following the Ukraine conflict, including energy restrictions, financial sanctions, and coordinated military assistance frameworks. It also advanced joint energy diversification strategies to reduce reliance on Russian gas, negotiating alternative supply arrangements with Norway, the United States, and Gulf producers. These examples demonstrate that despite losing Britain’s independent global military profile, the EU retains the capacity to function as a coordinated geopolitical actor when member-state interests converge.
- Crisis of Confidence or Proof of Resilience? The EU as a Model of Integration
Symbolically, Brexit initially appeared to undermine the EU’s credibility as a model of regional integration. For decades, the European project had been portrayed as a steadily deepening union. Britain’s withdrawal challenged this narrative and emboldened critics of supranational governance.
However, the EU’s institutional response has increasingly been cited as evidence of resilience rather than decline. The Union negotiated the Withdrawal Agreement collectively, preventing bilateral fragmentation. It also launched the €750 billion NextGenerationEU recovery fund during the COVID-19 crisis, financed through joint borrowing, an unprecedented step in fiscal integration. Furthermore, the EU continues to attract aspirant members; countries in the Western Balkans and Eastern Europe maintain accession ambitions, demonstrating that the Union’s integrative appeal persists. Hence, Brexit transformed the EU from an assumed irreversible project into a tested but still attractive integration model.
Critical Analysis: Brexit as Both a Fracture and a Forge
A balanced assessment suggests that Brexit functioned simultaneously as a fracture and a forge. In the short term, it reduced the EU’s economic mass, diplomatic reach, and military capacity while exposing internal divisions. However, in the longer term, it removed a persistent source of policy obstruction, strengthened political cohesion among remaining members, accelerated financial and defence coordination, and reinforced the logic of collective bargaining power. Thus, Brexit weakened the Union materially but strengthened it institutionally, illustrating how crises can generate integration through necessity.
Conclusion
Brexit stands as one of the most consequential events in contemporary European politics, reshaping both the EU’s internal integration trajectory and its global influence. Although the Union lost a major economic and strategic member, it also gained renewed cohesion, clearer institutional direction, and stronger incentives for collective action. Rather than signalling the decline of European integration, Brexit compelled the EU to consolidate its structures, diversify its economic networks, and refine its international posture. In this sense, Brexit did not dismantle the European project; it forced it to evolve, transforming a moment of separation into an opportunity for strategic reinvention.
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