The EU-Referendum on the secession of Britain from the European Union (“Brexit”) remains one of the most controversial developments in the United Kingdom since the Suez-Crisis of 1956. Its legal, political and psychological implications are of staggering complexity with long-term implications for the future of the UK and indeed the EU. This article examines the question whether British policy-making and the country’s constitutional structure were sufficiently equipped to deal appropriately with the immediate aftermath of the referendum on 23 June 2016. Furthermore, it examines the psychological and cultural implications of this decision to leave the EU after forty years of membership. In terms of approaching these not merely political but undoubtedly existential issues, this investigation attempts to join a critical analysis of this phenomenon with impressionistic snapshots of events, short essayistic excursions and brief surveys of the quickly growing secondary literature on “Brexit”. In so doing it reflects the opportunities and shortcomings of writing about “current affairs” – in this case, however, with reference to events that gained their own momentum. Findings can be summarized as follows: Firstly, the aftermath of the EU-Referendum exposed drastic weaknesses in the unwritten constitution of Britain. Secondly, the failure of the political establishment to convey to the people of Britain the intrinsic value of membership in the EU, not to speak of the ethos of mutual integration, together with a shockingly low level of information about the EU amongst the UK electorate, explain the outcome of the referendum. Thirdly, the risks following “Brexit” remain, in essence, incalculable. “Whitehall”, stunningly ill-prepared for the negotiations with the EU, continues to be engaged in replacing joined-up thinking with gambling.
DOI: | https://doi.org/10.37307/j.1866-5381.2017.02.02 |
Lizenz: | ESV-Lizenz |
ISSN: | 1866-5381 |
Ausgabe / Jahr: | 2 / 2017 |
Veröffentlicht: | 2017-12-01 |
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