Brexit has been a shock, awakening us to the instability of the present European political system. The unity of the Union has already been shattered by the Eurozone crisis raising the prospects for a more political differentiation. Fundamental issues regarding the EU’s competences are executed outside of EU treaties. Eurozone members enjoy closer cooperation, while several non-Eurozone states are pondering what position to take in this new context. At the same time the EU has to renegotiate its relation with the UK. These developments raise the prospect that states may come to permanently occupy different roles and statuses, and that political differentiation will come to be considered a defining feature of the EU. If so, we can speak of a uniquely structured political order in which the present level of political dispersion of power will be maintained or increased. At first glance, one might view the political differentiation of the European Union as a reflection of the autonomy of its member states, signifying the flexibility and dispersion of democratic control. However, differentiation affects the fundamental conditions of a self-ruling republic such as the EU. Moreover, under conditions of complex interdependence and economic integration, differentiation makes it hard to manage externalities. Political differentiation raises the spectre of dominance also in the form of decisional exclusion and the pre-emption of choice.
