Rob Johnson & Janne Haaland Matlary 
The United Kingdom’s Defence After Brexit 
Britain’s Alliances, Coalitions, and Partnerships

This new work examines how the European states, the United Kingdom and the United States will approach the defence and Security of Europe in the medium and long-term. It is often assumed that Brexit, the United Kingdom’s departure from the political and commercial European Union, would affect defence and security profoundly, but the basis of that assumption is rarely analysed. Bringing together a panel of specialists from Europe, the UK, the EU, and the United States, this volume evaluates the relative position they play in Europe’s defence in the era of Brexit. It examines the arguments, challenges, and problems in European defence, and tests them against the residual commitment, cohesion, and capabilities of the states concerned, including Anglo-French military co-operation, the silent Anglo-German partnership, the US-UK Special Relationship, and the emergent Northern Group.

Table of Content

1 Introduction Rob Johnson and Janne Haaland Matlary.- 2. UK Defence Policy: The ‘New Canada’ and ‘International by Design’ Rob Johnson.- 3. The ‘Special Relationship’ and the “Principled Realism” of the Trump Administration Andrew Michta.- 4. ‘You don’t hear the word Britain anymore’: Anglo-American Security Relations in the Era of Brexit and Trump Jeffrey Michaels.- 5. Franco-British defence co-operation in the context of Brexit Samuel Faure.- 6. British-German defence and security relations after Brexit: Quo vadis, ‘silent alliance’? Håkon Saxi.- 7. A Special Partnership? The EU’s Military Ambition and the Role of Britain, Janne Haaland Matlary.- 8  Britain’s Joint Expeditionary Force: A Force of Friends? Tormod Heier.- 9. Sweden, Finland, and the Defence of the Nordic-Baltic Region: Ways of British Leadership, Joakim Erma Møller and Magnus Petersson.- 10 The JEF as a Force Multiplier: The Example of Joint Amphibious Response in the Nordic – Baltic Theatre, Richard Cantrill and Eystein Lockwood Meyer.

About the author

Robert Johnson is the Director of the Changing Character of War research centre, and Senior Research Fellow at Pembroke College, University of Oxford, UK.





Janne Haaland Matlary, is from the Department of Political Science, University of Oslo, Norway, and is Adjunct Professor at the Norwegian Defence Command and Staff College, Norway.