Brexit and the United Kingdom-European Union relationship from the perspective of a complex adaptive system

The UK-EU relationship has been depicted as awkward, and Brexit represents the pinnacle of this strangeness. This paper uses Complex Adaptive Systems framework Containers, Differences, Exchanges (CDE) model to understand a turning point in system-wide pattern from differentiated integration disintegration. Also, accordance with post-functionalist theory, article argues that ‘constraining dissensus’ emerged since 1990s pushing both towards more and, ultimately,