Abstract
Among the changes and uncertainties of the post-post Cold War period in Europe, the British vote to leave the European Union on 23 June 2016 (or Brexit) probably stands out as one of the most unexpected and potentially far-reaching developments for the future of the continent. At first sight, this looks like a return to a traditional nationalist, power-based realist foreign policy, at least in the rethoric of Brexiters, who want to turn their backs on over 40 years of multilateral rules-based cooperation in Europe in favour of global agreements reminiscent of the UK’s glorious imperial past. Whether this is consistent with globalisation and economic interdependence is debatable, which raises the question of whether this renewed “realism” is actually realistic.
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Notes
- 1.
Douglas Hurd, House of Commons Parliamentary Debates, April 29, 1993, Col. 1176.
- 2.
‘Poll finds 60% of British public oppose UK military action against Syria ’, The Guardian, August 31, 2013.
- 3.
‘What happens when we vote leave’, Vote Leave Campaign. http://www.voteleavetakecontrol.org/briefing_newdeal.html. Accessed October 16, 2017.
- 4.
http://ec.europa.eu/trade/policy/eu-position-in-world-trade/. Accessed October 18, 2017.
- 5.
‘PM’s former security adviser warns of Brexit defence cuts’, The Observer, October 14, 2014.
- 6.
‘Barack Obama: As your friend, let me say that the EU makes Britain even greater’, Daily Telegraph, April 22, 2016.
- 7.
‘Australia says there will be no free trade deal with UK for years’, The Independent, September 7, 2017.
- 8.
‘India: Theresa May’s charm offensive leaves many unmoved’, BBC News, November 13, 2016. Available at http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-37950198. Accessed October 23, 2017.
- 9.
‘As missiles fly, Britain offers Japan whisky and Aston Martins’, The Economist, September 2, 2017.
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Schnapper, P. (2019). British Foreign Policy in the Context of Brexit: Realism or Irrationality?. In: Belloni, R., Della Sala, V., Viotti, P. (eds) Fear and Uncertainty in Europe . Global Issues. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-91965-2_10
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