After the United Kingdom voted in 2016 to leave the European Union, policymakers and political leaders across Europe feared that they, too, would soon face a similar crisis. They worried about a domino effect in which populist movements and politicians would lead other member states out of the EU one by one, effectively reversing a decadeslong process of European integration.
But, at least until recently, Brexit had the opposite effect. Much to everyone's surprise, the EU in the years after the U.K.'s referendum enjoyed a Brexit dividend.
Europeans watched the U.K. descend into political chaos, with Britons literally stockpiling food and medicine for fear of what the future might hold. EU member states that typically agree on very little suddenly found themselves united behind the European Commission's negotiating strategy.