新區域主義中描述的治理模式強調民族國家之間的跨域合作概念。然而，這種基於經濟和社會理性的合作，往往因為某些地理上或是民族主義上的政治因素而迷失既有之方向。英國脫歐公投於2016年6月通過，緊接著2017年3月脫歐進程正式啟動，原預計在兩年內完成退出歐盟。在此期間，英國面臨一系列政治和經濟動盪，愛爾蘭/英國（北愛爾蘭）邊界問題成為英國脫歐談判最主要的障礙。未來的發展不僅影響英國的政治、社會和經濟各層面，也會影響歐盟幾十年來持續推動的區域政策和歐洲統合。本研究延續上一計畫探討愛爾蘭/英國邊境地區的跨界合作在脫歐後的制度調整與方案設計，發現過程中的歷史結構與政治障礙，可能是導致英國脫歐亂局的根本因素。因此，擬從結構功能主義和政治生態學的角度，對歐盟二十多年來建立的區域治理機制重新加以評估。研究採用文獻分析和個案研究方法，以愛爾蘭/英國（北愛爾蘭）邊界個案為例，探討：一、英國脫歐問題所涉及的歷史結構與內外環境因素；二、脫歐談判進程中，愛爾蘭/英國跨邊境議題所面臨的政治生態及政治變項；三、對長期以來以「新區域主義」觀點為主的跨境治理理論及實踐加以回顧和審視。
The governance model described in the new regionalism emphasizes the concept of cross-border cooperation between nation states. However, cooperation which is based on economic-social rationality, are often lost by certain political factors – whether it is geographical or nationalist. The Brexit referendum was passed in June 2016, and the following Brexit procedures were launched in March 2017. It is expected to complete exit from the European Union within two years. During this period, the UK has faced a series of political and economic turmoil, and the Ireland/UK（Northern Ireland） border issue became a major obstacle to the Brexit negotiations. The future circumstances will not only affect political and economic development in the UK, but also influence regional policies and European integration that the EU has been promoting for many decades. This study continues the previous project to explore cross-border cooperation in the Irish/UK border areas in the post-Brexit institutional adjustment and programme design, and found that the historical structure and political obstacles in the process may be the underlying cause of the Brexit chaos. Therefore, it is proposed to re-evaluate the regional governance mechanism established by the EU for more than 20 years from the perspective of structural functionalism and political ecology. The study uses literature analysis and case studies to explore the case of the Irish/UK (Northern Ireland) border as an example: First, the historical structure and internal and external environmental factors involved in the Brexit issue; Second, in the Brexit negotiation process, the Irish/UK cross-border issues face political ecological and political changes; and third, review and examine the long-standing cross-border governance theory and practice, which has been dominated by the “new regionalism” perspective.
