Centenary celebrations meet a farewell party: British-Czech bilateral relations in the times of Brexit

Abstract

2019 marks an especially important year for British-Czech bilateral relations. As a year of both centenary celebrations of opening of the British Embassy in Prague and Brexit, it makes for a fascinating paradox: a symbol of a century-long continuity on one hand and a year of serious disruption on the other hand. Against this background, the overarching aim of this article is to investigate Brexit implications for British-Czech bilateral relations, placing this assessment in the context of the long-term evolution of these relations and relating it to debates within the scholarship on the effects of Brexit. At the same time, it addresses some of the wider political questions that will determine the nature of Brexit’s supposed effects on the future direction of individual bilateral relations between the UK and EU27 member states.