The UK’s withdrawal from the EU is a defining moment for the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP), since the country was a prime mover and is one of the main shareholders in this policy area. That said, Brexit is likely to have more impact on the politics and governance of the CSDP than on its actual operations and cooperation on armaments. For this reason, and to secure the best outcome from withdrawal negotiations, EU member states should agree on a dual-track political process to i) provide the CSDP with a new governance model, namely through the emergence of a new ‘core’ and ii) devise a partnership framework to keep the UK involved in future CSDP activities as a third party. [...]