Fantasies of Exit: Brexit, Nationalism, and Immigration

• In Event: Migration and the Wall

Abstract

A prominent strand of the scholarship on Brexit referendum has focused on economics, asking why the majority voted to sever UK membership in the EU, a decision that will likely harm the nation’s economic prospects. The focus on economics has been productive, but it has largely left unexplored the role of political ideas in the referendum. Addressing this gap, this paper examines the campaign rhetoric of the two official campaign organizations, Vote Leave and Britain Stronger in Europe. It argues the referendum was a clash between two ideas, nationalism and pluralism, both of which combined with a third more concrete idea, exit. The paper explores these amalgamations — “unifying exit” and “diversifying exit” — in order to better understand their attributes, risks, and proclivities. If Brexit marks a major turning point in liberal democracy and European politics, then we may see iterations of unifying and diversifying exit in other campaigns or elections.

Author

• Jennet Kirkpatrick, Arizona State University