Studying Brexit

Abstract

Brexit is the most important and controversial topic in modern British politics. It confronts the UK with a series of questions and debates about its identity, society, political economy, trade, security, international position, constitution, legal system, sovereignty, unity, party politics and the attitudes and values that define it. While questions and debates about these topics took place before the vote to leave the EU, the referendum’s debate and result have brought them together in a way that could make Brexit a rare turning point that profoundly transforms Britain. Brexit, however, is not a single event or process or entirely about Britain. It is a series of overlapping processes and debates taking place at and involving multiple actors in Britain, the remaining EU, the rest of Europe, and around the world. It is its wide-ranging nature and complexity that makes Brexit one of the most important and difficult political issues to define and analyse. To introduce you to Brexit this book is divided into eight chapters. This first chapter looks at what Brexit is and how to study it. There are many ways to define and examine Brexit. Indeed, it is never out of the news in the UK and often a topic of discussion elsewhere. How then is it possible to define and study something that can touch on so many issues and is in a constant state of flux? Chapter Two looks at UK–EU relations before the referendum. This chapter looks at the history of Britain’s relations with European integration and also sets out some basic details about why the EU was founded and how it has evolved.