Advancing the literature on status in world politics, this article argues that Brexit generated status insecurity for the UK. In order to deal with the consequences of the shock represented by Brexit, the UK sought to address status insecurity in two ways. Firstly, it pursued more modes of engagement with European security simultaneously. It continued to play a leadership role in NATO, and it deepened bilateral cooperation with individual European countries. Secondly, it also articulated its willingness to be treated differently to any other third party by advancing ‘Global Britain’ as a framework for post-Brexit foreign policy, opening up space for involvement in EU defence initiatives. Nevertheless, this article argues that the UK faces the challenge of having to work more for less in the short term, without recognition by the EU of a status beyond third party for the UK. The implications of this are discussed.

推进有关世界政治地位的文献研究，本文认为英国退欧给英国带来了地位不安全感。为了应对英国退欧带来的冲击的后果，英国试图以两种方式解决地位不安全的问题。首先，它同时追求与欧洲安全的更多接触方式。它继续在北约中发挥领导作用，并加深了与个别欧洲国家的双边合作。其次，它还明确表示愿意通过将“全球英国”作为脱欧后外交政策的框架，为参与欧盟防务举措提供空间，与其他任何第三方区别对待。不过，本文认为，英国面临着在短期内不得不花更少的钱从事更多工作的挑战，未经欧盟承认其在英国以外的地位。讨论了其含义。