Brexit and Beyond: Implications for British and European Politics
Terrence Casey
9:00am – 5:00pm
The decision of British voters in June 2016 to leave the European Union initiated an unprecedented period of turmoil and transformation in both British and European politics. This short course sponsored by the British Politics Group will gather key scholars from the UK, Europe, and the US to explore these issues.
The most significant impacts of Brexit relates to foreign relations and the economy. What will be the political and economic relationship between Britain and the EU post-Brexit? Will the economy be the disaster that Remainers predicted? What will be the impact on the continent’s economies? If Britain leaves the Single Market, can they establish new trade deals – and on what terms — with other major economic actors, especially China and the United States? What will become of the special relationship once the UK is no longer a conduit for America to Europe? Brexit will also inexorably alter the trajectory of European integration (or dis-integration). How will British departure from the EU affect European institutions and the remaining Member States?
British domestic politics is also in a state of extreme flux. Since 2014, Britain held a referendum on Scottish independence, two general elections (both with surprise results) and, of course, the Brexit vote. Collectively these have shaken the foundations of British party and electoral politics. Conservative leader Theresa May is in office yet not exactly in power, having spectacularly failed by losing her majority in a snap 2017 election. Meanwhile Jeremy Corbyn, that most implausible of potential Prime Ministers, is potentially poised to lead his Labour Party to victory. The populism that spurred the Leave Campaign to victory, moreover, remains a force. What will be the state of the parties after all this plays out? How will this transform the electoral map heading into the next General Election?
Separating from the EU also raises new problems for the structure of the United Kingdom itself, potentially reconfiguring political and economic relations between England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, where the issue of the border with the Republic of Ireland is already becoming a major concern of the Brexit negotiations. Can the United Kingdom survive Brexit in its current institutional configuration?
In this short course, various panelists from the BPG and beyond will come together to examine the questions raised above, among others, in order to provide a better understanding of the course of British and European politics during the process of Brexit negotiation and beyond. In addition to panelists invited by the BPG, we are open to proposals from other scholars whose research is appropriate to the topics under consideration.
Interested participants should contact the short course organizer, TERRENCE CASEY (Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology) at casey1@rose-hulman.edu no later than 1 June 2018. Further information can be found at the British Politics Group website. www.britishpoliticsgroup.com. (NOTE: Accepted participants must become members of the British Politics Group and must register for the full APSA conference in order to register for the short course.)
**All Short Courses will take place on Wednesday, August 29 at the APSA 2018 Annual Meeting in Boston, MA.**