Exeter Fellow Dr George Asiamah publishes new study on Post-Brexit UK–EU Regulatory Alignment
Dr George Asiamah, Singer Fellow in Politics at Exeter College, has published a new article in the Journal of Common Market Studies (JCMS) examining how the United Kingdom has continued to align with European Union regulatory standards following Brexit, despite formally leaving the EU.
His article, titled Asymmetric Regulatory Embeddedness and Post-Brexit Governance: Explaining Adaptive Convergence in the United Kingdom, explores why efforts to create regulatory divergence after Brexit have often resulted in continued practical compatibility with EU rules. Focusing on sectors including chemical regulation and agri-food governance, the article introduces the concept of “asymmetric regulatory embeddedness” (ARE) to explain how economic interdependence, institutional structures, and regulatory systems continue to shape UK governance after withdrawal from the EU.
Drawing on case studies of UK REACH chemical regulation and sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) policy between 2019 and 2025, Dr Asiamah argues that while Brexit restored formal legal autonomy, many areas of regulation remain closely connected to EU systems through shared infrastructures, trade relationships, scientific data networks, and administrative processes. The article also develops the idea of “adaptive convergence”, describing how governments recalibrate policies when attempts at divergence encounter practical constraints such as trade disruption, regulatory duplication, or administrative complexity.
The study contributes to wider debates on Europeanisation, sovereignty, and post-membership governance, suggesting that modern regulatory systems are increasingly shaped by structural interdependence rather than formal political authority alone. It also offers a new framework for understanding how states navigate governance after leaving highly integrated international systems.
Dr Asiamah’s research focuses on Brexit, regulatory governance, European politics, and international political economy. His recent work examines the evolving relationship between sovereignty, institutional interdependence, and public policy in post-Brexit Britain.
