Abstract
The contribution by Tim Oliver studies the theoretical discussions of Brexit, Grexit and other exit scenarios. Oliver starts from the fact that the UK’s vote to leave the European Union has presented the integration project with an unprecedented challenge. What this could mean for the EU has been the subject of increased levels of analysis and speculation, albeit nowhere near as comprehensive as that into what the vote might mean for the UK. One concern is that Brexit signals or could begin the unravelling of the EU, eventually leading to its complete collapse and disintegration. To examine whether or not Brexit will lead to European disintegration, this chapter explores some of the analysis into what Brexit could mean for the EU and then explores some of the theoretical debates about European disintegration.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Bartolini, S. (2005). Restructuring Europe: Centre formation, system building and political structuring between the Nation-State and the European Union. Oxford: OUP.
Booth, S., & Howarth, C. (2012). Trading Places: Is EU membership still the best option for UK trade? London: Open Europe.
Burgoon, B., Trubowitz, P., & Oliver, T. (2017). Globalization, domestic politics, and transatlantic relations. International Politics, forthcoming late 2017.
Daddow, O., & Oliver, T. (2016). A not so awkward partner: The UK has been a champion of many causes in the EU. LSE Brexit Vote blog. Available: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/brexitvote/2016/04/15/a-not-so-awkward-partner-the-uk-has-been-a-champion-of-many-causes-in-the-eu/
Davies, N. (2011). Vanished Kingdoms: The history of half-forgotten Europe. London: Allen Lane.
Dempsey, J. (2016, December 14). Judy asks: Is the EU’s architecture collapsing? Carnegie Europe blog. Available: http://carnegieeurope.eu/strategiceurope/66439
Emerson, M. (Ed.). (2015). Britain’s future in Europe: Reform, renegotiation, repatriation or secession? Brussels: Centre for European Policy Studies.
Eurostat. (2016). Population change—Demographic balance and crude rates at national level. Available: http://appsso.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/nui/show.do?dataset=demo_gind&lang=en
Geddes, A. (2013). Britain and the European Union. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
George, S. (1998). An awkward partner: Britain in the European Community. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Goodwin, M. J., & Ford, R. (2017). Britain after Brexit: A nation divided. Journal of Democracy, 28(1), 17–30.
HM Treasury. (2015, December). European Union finances 2015: Statement on the 2015 EU budget and measures to counter fraud and financial mismanagement. Cm 9167. https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/483344/EU_finances_2015_final_web_09122015.pdf
Hooghe, L., & Marks, M. (2009). A postfunctionalist theory of European integration: From permissive consensus to constraining dissensus. British Journal of Political Science, 39(1), 1–23.
Irwin, G. (2015). Brexit: The impact on the UK and the EU. London: Global Counsel. Available: https://www.global-counsel.co.uk/sites/default/files/special-reports/downloads/Global%20Counsel_Impact_of_Brexit.pdf
Korteweg, R. (2015). The four horsemen circling the European Council summit. London: Centre for European Reform. Available: http://www.cer.org.uk/insights/four-horsemen-circling-european-council
Krotz, U., & Maher, R. (2016). Europe’s crisis and the EU’s ‘big three’. West European Politics, 39(5), 1053–1072.
Leuffen, D., Rittberger, B., & Schimmelfennig, F. (2012). Differentiated integration. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Lindberg, L., & Scheingold, S. (1970). Europe’s would-be polity: Patterns of change in the European community. Hemel Hempstead: Prentice-Hall.
Möller, A., & Oliver, T. (Eds.). (2014). The United Kingdom and the European Union: What would a “Brexit” mean for the EU and other States around the World? Berlin: Deutsche Gesellschaft für auswärtige Politik e.V.
Oliver, T. (2013). Europe without Britain: Assessing the impact on the EU of a UK withdrawal. Berlin: SWP. Available: https://www.swp-berlin.org/fileadmin/contents/products/research_papers/2013_RP07_olv.pdf
Oliver, T. (2016). Brexit: The many roads to a crisis? LSE Brexit Blog. Available: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/brexit/2016/09/21/brexit-the-many-roads-to-a-crisis/
ONS. (2015, June 26). How important is the European Union to UK trade and investment? Office for National Statistics. http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20160105160709/http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/international-transactions/outward-foreign-affiliates-statistics/how-important-is-the-european-union-to-uk-trade-and-investment-/sty-eu.html
Open Europe. (2012). Right speech, right time? London: Open Europe. Available: http://www.openeurope.org.uk/Content/Documents/Pdfs/EuropeSpeech.pdf
Robinson, D., & Barker, A. (2016, November 21). “Many ways” Brexit may go to EU courts, top ECJ judge says. FT. Available: https://www.ft.com/content/6609025a-adbc-11e6-ba7d-76378e4fef24
Rosamond, B. (2016). Brexit and the problem of European disintegration. Journal of Contemporary European Research, 12(4), 864–871.
Streeck, W. (2016). How will capitalism end? Essays on a failing system. New York: Verso.
Tilford, S. (2017). Crisis of capitalism? Perhaps, but don’t blame it on globalisation. London: CER. http://www.cer.org.uk/insights/crisis-capitalism-perhaps-dont-blame-it-globalisation
Vollaard, H. (2014). Explaining European disintegration. Journal of Common Market Studies, 52(5), 1142–1159.
Webber, D. (2014). How likely is it that the European Union will disintegrate? A critical analysis of competing theoretical perspectives. European Journal of International Relations, 20(2), 341–365.
Wright, T. (2013). Europe’s lost decade. Survival, 55(6), 7–28.
Zielonka, J. (2014). Is the EU doomed? Cambridge: Polity Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 Springer International Publishing AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Oliver, T. (2017). The EU Falling Apart? Theoretical Discussions of Brexit, Grexit and Other Exit Scenarios. In: Grimmel, A., Giang, S. (eds) Solidarity in the European Union. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57036-5_10
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57036-5_10
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-57035-8
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-57036-5
eBook Packages: Political Science and International StudiesPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)