Kumiko Haba
Martin Holland Editors

Brexit and After
Perspectives on European Crises andReconstruction from Asia and Europe

Brexit and AfterKumiko Haba Martin Holland•

Editors

Brexit and After
Perspectives on European Crises
and Reconstruction from Asia and Europe

123Editors
Kumiko Haba
International Politics,
Economics and Communication
Aoyama Gakuin University
Tokyo, Japan

Martin Holland
NCRE
University of Canterbury
Christchurch, New ZealandISBN 978-981-15-7968-4
ISBN 978-981-15-7969-1
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-7969-1(eBook)© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
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SingaporeIntroduction

BREXIT (a portmanteau of Britain and Exit from the EU) came about as a resultof the June 23, 2016 referendum. The result, to leave, sent shockwaves around theworld. It would go on to paralyze the parliamentary process for some three and ahalf years as well as manifest itself among the UK electorate as the label “Leavers”
and “Remainers” was still very much on display during the 2019 general election.
In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has hit the UK particularly hard. Ofﬁcial ﬁgures
point to over 40 thousand deaths (the third highest total after the US and Brazil as ofJune 13, 2020). Even Prime Minister Boris Johnson became infected and was
unable to carry out his ofﬁcial duties. No one could have imagined such a dramatic
combination of events in 2016.
One year after the Brexit referendum, the annual EUSA AP (European Union
Studies Association Asia Paciﬁc) Conference was held in Tokyo. It brought
together an international gathering of EU researchers. Of course, the hot topic atthat time was Brexit. Presentations covering Britain’s withdrawal from the EU fromvarious perspectives such as politics, economics and law were made over the courseof the 2 days. In the wake of the conference, many of the participants asked about
the possibility of outing together a number of the papers as an edited volume. This
became possible after the suggestion was approved by the ExCom. meeting of the
EUSAJ (EU Society of Japan). As a result, with the help and support of numerous
individuals, not least Prof. Martin Holland, and Prof. Sang Chul Park, and thecontributing authors, Brexit and After was realized and ﬁnally published in 2020.
As is well known, just 5 months after the Brexit referendum, Donald Trump
became the 45th President of the United States. It was during the referendum andpresidential election campaigns that talk of populism became more widespread.
Terms such as “Post Truth” and “anti-elite/anti-establishment” became commonplace. Furthermore, existential fears about the robustness of “liberal democracy”
and the sustainability of the European Union and European values were regularly
being exchanged in the media. However, despite its own difﬁculties the EU has andis, in various guises and to various degrees, a point of reference for regional
integration projects and initiatives around the world––albeit with a greater emphasison economic rather than political integration.
v

vi

Introduction

In Asia, the ﬁrst two decades of the twenty-ﬁrst century have been dominated byeconomic development and a greater emphasis on Asian Regional cooperation.
While not exactly a blueprint of the EU story––that includes the “reconciliation offormer enemies,” and the notion of “multi-ethnic co-existence,” have been a pointof inspiration for many in this part of the globe. Such ideas have fed into practices
such as ASEAN Good Governance, economic cooperation among
Japan-China-Korea, South Asian Regional Cooperation (SAARC), the economic
restructuring of Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and theTrans-Paciﬁc Partnership Agreement (TTP) (reconstituted as the Comprehensive
and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Paciﬁc Partnership following America’s
withdrawal).
In Asia, given that disputes and conflicts still remain and the ideologicalcleavage between socialism and capitalism cannot be ignored, some have placed
greater emphasis on the pursuit of economic interconnectedness a la EU. As a resultof that, China has developed what it calls the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) thatdraws from the experiences of the EU, almost quarter of the countries in the globe
have wished to become part of this initiative. In addition, we can also point to themultilateral Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). Headquartered in
Beijing, and with a wide-ranging global membership it describes itself as having “amission to improve social and economic outcomes in Asia.” Elsewhere in Asia,
many have speculated that the EU model which sought democracy, freedom andreconciliation, peace and prosperity could provide lessons for future relations
between Japan and South Korea.
Yet in the past decade that model has been faced with its own existential crisis––
personiﬁed by Britain’s withdrawal from the EU, alongside a wave of nationalism
and populism increasing its electoral presence across numerous member states; notonly Italy and Greece, but also France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Hungary. Insuch an environment Euro-skepticism has become an established element of theparty-system and national debate––albeit to varying degrees.
Economically the EU has also faced serious economic disruption. Although the
EU became the world’s largest economic zone surpassing the United States, due tothe deepening and widening as a result of the 2004 and 2007 enlargements, theeconomically developed countries of the EU failed to adequately help Southern andEastern Europe members amid the Lehman Shock and the Euro Crisis. As a result,
it is perhaps not surprising that dissatisfaction rose sharply in the member states
most adversely affected.
After the end of the Cold War, with the aim of “Return to Europe,” 11 countries
in Central and Eastern Europe joined the EU after going through a political, legal,
and economic accession process. Despite all of the positives and hopes, accession
also had its costs not least in the economic sphere that eventually provided fertile
ground for populism and skepticism to emerge.
It was Russia that noticed this situation. Putin funded European populists
including UKIP and Le Pen, and supported the growth of populism from theoutside. Russia was deeply dissatisﬁed with being separated from the world byexpelling from the G8 after Ukrainian Maidan Revolution in 2014, Russia’sIntroductionvii

occupation of the Crimea, its transfer to Russia, and promoted the divisionof the EU.
In contrast, China accelerated its BRI strategy to the West, avoiding conflicts
between the United States and China, expanding their influence toward the West in
partnership with Russia and Central Asia. In partnership with Britain, Germany, andFrance, China promoted infrastructure support, capital investment, expansion of IT
companies, and cyber cooperation to Asia, Central Asia, Africa, and Europe. It also
proceeded with a grand 100-year infrastructure development plan.
All of this contributed to divisions within the EU as the economic superpowers
like Germany, the UK, and France focused on and emphasized the role of theinternational political economy with the “EU as a global power” and failed to pay
attention to those member states suffering from the sovereign debt crisis, or thosefacing economic inequality after joining the EU. As a result, attitudes in the smaller
member states became more skeptical toward the European project.
In the meantime, the UK ﬁnally left the political institutions of the EU at the endof January 2020, after three-and-a-half-years of domestic political turmoil. Almost
immediately after that event, the region was hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Having ﬁrst taken hold in Italy, it subsequently spread across the region where it
struck Spain, Belgium, and the UK particularly hard. Its presence has brought backmemories of the post-WWI Spanish flu pandemic that had a devastating impact onlife around the globe. The world has now been shaken by this disease for the past 6months. Not surprisingly having to deal with COVID-19, which has mercilessly
inflicted enormous social and economic costs on developed European countries, hasdiverted attention away from the Brexit negotiations. Those negotiations are continuing though without perhaps the media spotlight that they might have had.
The UK remains scheduled to ﬁnish the transition period, with or without a deal, on
December 31, 2020.
This book, which brings together authors from across the world, including
Europe, Asia, and the USA is intended to consider the meaning of Brexit: its impact
on the EU, the UK, Asia, and the wider world 4 years after the June 2016referendum.
Many of the contributors believe that the EU-27 can recover from the loss of theUK, but that recovery will not be easy and will take time. As part of that process,the EU must overcome public dissatisfaction, Euro-skepticism, domestic and ethnic
disparities, and rebuild solidarity across the member states. Together these can givea renewed sense of momentum to the integration process. As part of that process,the EU’s present and future relationship with Asia will be crucial. Building relationships with Asia will also be crucial for the UK as it seeks to secure free tradedeals across the globe. Maintaining the idea of a “global Europe” after Brexit,
therefore, is not simply about the EU and China’s relationship, it is also about
whether the EU is able to ensure stable multilateral relationships between the EU
and Asia as a whole.
In light of the above, this book consists of three parts.
Part I. Post Brexit: Politico-Economic Changes in the EU and the Global WorldPart II. Post Brexit and European Integration

viii

Introduction

Part III. Brexit and After: Influence on other Countries: Oceania, China and India
A very brief synopsis of each chapter follows:
I, Post Brexit, in the EU and the Global World consists of ﬁve papers.
I-1. Martin Holland, Brexit in the Time of Coronavirus is clearly analyzing
the following things. First, the UK and the EC/EU historical relationship after
becoming an EC member over 47 years, Euro-skepticism in the UK, and the roleof the EU-27 after Brexit. In addition, in the latter half of the chapter, the analysisof the interests in the EU in the Asian media (Japan, China, Indonesia) is particularly revealing.
I-2. Kumiko Haba, Post-Brexit and Post-Corona: The UK, the EU, andCentral East Europe : ‘Illiberal Democracy’ and the Influence of China analyzes a number of key issues: the historic role of the UK in Central East Europe;
EU-skepticism after the enlargement of the EU; “Illiberal Democracy,” which ispredicated on a desire “not to leave the EU, but rather seek to reform it fromwithin”; and the expansion of Chinese role in the EU. The chapter stresses that
Regional cooperation between Asia and the EU leads the world after Brexit.
I-3. Sang-Chul Park, Asian Regional Cooperation is analyzing AsianRegionalism symbolized through detailed insights of the RCEP and the
CPTPP. Especially after the global ﬁnancial crisis, Asia transformed from tradeprotectionism to the FTA as a result of bilateral and multilateral relations. As the“third power” against the US and Europe Asia economic cooperation has been
attracting attention. RCEP and CPTPP members are considering the future development of FTAAP.
I-4. Hitomi Kimura, Recovery of the Sovereignty and Regional Integrationin EU and Asia After Brexit is analyzing the relationship between sovereignty andregional integration, which is the most important issue for the UK. Brexit was a
choice about national sovereignty and democracy or the continuation of economic
integration. On the other hand, in Asia, ASEAN and APEC have embraced economic integration based on retaining national sovereignty.
I-5. Binoy Kampmark and Petar Kurečić, Brexit and Trump: Genuine
Anti-Globalization Revolution or the Repetition of 1848 is analyzing that Brexit
was chosen as a result of increasing inequality, national anti-globalization, andnationalism. “Post Truth” urges a social transformation, arguing that it will be anational revolution like the European 1848 revolution.
II. Post Brexit and European Integration analyzes economic, political, or
structural domestic relationships within the EU. This section also has ﬁve papers.
II-1. Bruno Dallago and Steven Roseﬁelde are researching the Post-Brexit
European Integration process. The paper is analyzing whether the impact of
Brexit would be less disruptive than expected on the EU as a result of the EU’s
capacity to constructively ﬁll institutional composition gaps. This reduces thesystem’s vulnerability to asymmetric shocks.
II-2. Stephen Day’s ‘Brexit Fissures’: Party Politics and Territorial Politics
Post-2017 reveals how Brexit-induced cracks have accompanied the process ofactualizing the referendum result. In so doing, he focuses on two main areas. First,
the disruption that accompanied party politics during the 36 months prior to theIntroductionix

Conservative Party’s general election victory in December 2019. Second, he shows
how Brexit has ampliﬁed demands for a second independence referendum in
Scotland and a “border poll” in Northern Ireland.
II-3. Sarah Harrison, Hopes and Fears in Pre-and Post-Brexit Britain shows
the complexity of the referendum by analyzing a series of quantitative and qualitative data. The chapter reveals unprecedented polarization and division within theelectorate. She concludes that the conflicts, isolation, and sense of uncertainty exist
not only in the UK, but also in the US and across Europe. The impact of COVID-19
increases those feelings of conflict, isolation, and uncertainty.
II-4. Koji Fukuda, European Governance After the Brexit, and the
COVID-19 Shocks seeks a new phase of EU solidarity and integration from thefollowing three points. The ﬁrst is neo-liberal globalization and European integration under the context of Brexit and Corona, the second concerns the validityof the trickle-down hypothesis, and the third is the differentiation of various EU
frameworks. Analysis of these three indicates the direction of governance reform.
II-5. Miguel Angel Vecino’s Brexit: Reasons and Domestic Consequences
argues that the complexity of Brexit will prove to be an existential challenge for the
EC/EU bigger than anything since the 1950s. The chapter focuses on 3 factors:(1) Britons never felt “European” in the way that citizens of other continental EU
member states did. (2) the UK had a historical problem with Ulster and Scotland.
(3) English, Northern Irish, and Scottish voters saw the EU differently. Brexit
emerged as a result of such different realities.
III. Brexit and After: Influence on other Countries: Oceania, China, andIndia have four papers.
III-1. Serena Kelly, Franzisca Doser, and Natalia Chaban, Shifting Frames:
Images of Brexit in NZ and Possible Consequences offers an interesting take on
Brexit by analyzing changes in the “emotional” framing to it. This is done by
applying political psychology and communication theory, to how Brexit wasunderstood in NZ, one of the UK’s closest allies.
III-2. Judy Yo-Ming Wu, The Dynamics of China’s Trade Ties After a
Brexit Announcement, UK and EU argues that Brexit will deﬁnitely cast a shadow on the trade relations between China and Britain. Although China has not yet
decided which is better, between the EU or the UK, the EU’s single market offers
distinct advantages especially in light of the Brexit’s uncertainty for the UK andnegative impact of COVID-19 on the global economy.
III-3. Pradeep S. Chauhan, BREXIT and India: Challenges andOpportunities shows how Indian companies’ plans to invest in the UK have been
seriously affected by Brexit. Major investors like TATA are already looking foralternatives. On the other hand, the UK has identiﬁed India as a key partner
post-Brexit. How India maintains good economic relations between the EU and the
UK is likely to be related to the fate of the UK economy.
III-4. Yongshu Li, The Influence of Brexit on the UK’s Arms Trade Policy
and Arms Embargo on China analyzes the impact of Brexit on the arms trade
between the UK and China. The EU continued to embargo China after Tiananmen,
but the UK resumed arms trade with China after 1998, in a departure from the rest

x

Introductionof the EU. After Brexit, the UK could signiﬁcantly boost arms trade with China.
The paper gives an analysis of the change of arms trade between the UK and China.
Lastly, we are grateful for the assistance and encouragement of many people
who have encouraged us to undertake this project during the past few years.
We would like to thank all the participants, who attended EUSA AP’s Tokyo,
Taipei, and Shanghai Conferences. The opportunity to meet and share ideas fromdifferent insights and perspectives is a very precious commodity. Hopefully, thespirit of those gatherings has been carried over into this book. As the editors, wehave certainly learned a great deal from all of the papers and would like to thank theauthors for their contributions.
If this book, Brexit and After achieves any measure of informational success, it
is all owed to these excellent professors. Let us hope it will not be too long before
we are all able to meet in person at the next EUSA-AP gathering.
We are incredibly grateful to Springer––particularly Mr. Yutaka Hirachi and Mr.
Chandra Asekaran Arjunan for agreeing to publish this book and bearing with us
over the past year. The book was initially scheduled for publication in 2019, but
because of the delay to Brexit (which was meant to take place on March 29, 2019)as a result of the ongoing confrontation between the UK parliament and the government we asked Springer if it was possible to defer for a while. Immediately after
that, COVID-19 outbreak and spread in Europe, the US, and all over the world. We
would like to express our sincere gratitude to the Springer Publisher for understanding these situations and waiting patiently for us to deliver the manuscript.
Finally, please allow us to say thanks to Dr. Du Shishin (Postdoc fellow) andNicholas Crenshaw (MA), both of whom dedicated a great deal of time and energy,
especially in the ﬁnal stages, to get the manuscript ready for delivery. The fact that
Brexit and After could be organized in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis is due totheir hard work. We sincerely appreciate both of their endeavors. We would also
like to express our gratitude to Prof. Stephen Day, who gave much appreciatedassistance prior to submission. His comments were very valuable for our book.
Having gathered together a multidisciplinary group of researchers, whosebackgrounds encompass politics, economics, and sociology we hope that this bookwill provide a series of stimulating insights and useful information for readers. As
the EU and the UK move into a post-Brexit world and look to forge deeper
relationships with Asia, we believe Brexit and After is a timely contribution to thisdebate.
Kumiko Haba
EUSA AP President of Tokyo Conference in 2017
Martin Holland
General Secretary of EUSA AP
EUSA AP President of NZ Conference in 2021

Contents

Part I

Post Brexit: Politico-Economic Changes in the EU
and the Global World
3

1

Brexit in the Time of Coronavirus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Martin Holland

2

Post-Brexit and Post-Corona: The UK, the EU and Central East
Europe: ‘Illiberal Democracy’ and the Inﬂuence of China . . . . . . .
Kumiko Haba

17

Asian Regional Cooperation: RCEP and CPTPP Strategy
After Brexit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Sang-Chul Park

41

Recovery of the Sovereignty and Regional Integrationin EU and Asia After Brexit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Hitomi Kimura

57

Brexit and Trump: Genuine Anti-Globalization Revolution
or the Repetition of 1848 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Binoy Kampmark and Petar Kurečić

75

3

4

5

Part II

Post Brexit and European Integration
93

6

Post-Brexit European Integration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Bruno Dallago and Steven Roseﬁelde

7‘Brexit Fissures’: Party Politics and Territorial Politics
Post-2017 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Stephen Day

8

Hopes and Fears in a Pre- and Post-Brexit Britain . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Sarah Harrison

xi

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Contents

9European Governance After the Brexit and the COVID-19
Shocks: A New Phase of Solidarity and Integrationin the EU from the Japanese Perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Koji Fukuda

10 Brexit: Reasons and Domestic Consequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Miguel Angel VecinoPart IIIBrexit and After: Influence on other Countries:
Oceania, China and India

11 Shifting Frames: Images of Brexit in NZ and Possible
Consequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Serena Kelly, Franzisca Doser, and Natalia Chaban
12 The Dynamics of China’s Trade Ties After a Brexit
Announcement, UK and EU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Judy Yo-Ming Wu
13 BREXIT and India: Challenges and Opportunities . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Pradeep S. Chauhan
14 The Inﬂuence of Brexit on the UK’s Arms Trade Policy
and Arms Embargo on China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Yongshu Li

Contributors

Natalia Chaban University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand
Pradeep S. Chauhan Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra, India
Bruno Dallago Department of Economics and Management, University of Trento,
Trento, Italy
Stephen Day Oita University, Oita, Japan
Franzisca Doser University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand
Koji Fukuda Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan
Kumiko Haba Aoyama Gakuin University, Tokyo, Japan
Sarah Harrison London School of Economics and Political Science, London, UK
Martin Holland University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand
Binoy Kampmark RMIT University, Carlton, Australia
Serena Kelly University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand
Hitomi Kimura Otsuma Women’s University, Tokyo, Japan
Petar Kurečić University North, Koprivnica, Croatia
Yongshu Li Assistant professor, Department of Political Science and Economics,
Meiji University, Tokyo, Japan
Sang-Chul Park Korea Polytechnic University, Siheung, South Korea
Steven Roseﬁelde Department of Economics, University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, USA
Miguel Angel Vecino Madrid, Spain
Judy Yo-Ming Wu Department of International Business, Chung Yuan Christian
University, Taoyuan City, Taiwan

xiii

Part I

Post Brexit: Politico-Economic Changes
in the EU and the Global World

Chapter 1

Brexit in the Time of Coronavirus
Martin Holland

Abstract The departure of the UK from the EU has been a kaleidoscope of
surprises—the initial shock of the 2016 referendum, two unexpected elections, therevolving door at 10 Downing Street and the succession of missed promised deadlines from 29 March 2019 until the final severance of British EU membership on 31
January 2020. Informed commentators were united in their expectation that the negotiations between the UK and the EU on the shape of the new bilateral relationshipwould inevitably dominate public, media and political agendas for much of 2020. Yet,barely 1 month after the UK’s departure, this seeming certainty was fundamentallycompromised by the Covid-19 pandemic. Indeed, it may prove to be the case thatfor the EU, somethings are currently more important and enduring—both politicallyand economically—than Brexit.

This chapter eschews a detailed account of the Brexit campaign that emerged atthe 2014 European Parliament elections and culminated in the 23 June 2016 referendum outcome, preferring a longer historical context as a partial explanation for
Brexit. This historical perspective is juxtaposed with a contemporary focus even if at
the time of writing the June 2020 extension deadline decision remained pending—making predictions on the negotiation process somewhat precarious. Additionally,
consideration is given to the consequences of the UK’s departure for the EU27 scredibility, reputation and capacity in a global context. Finally, the chapter presents
unique data on the transformation in media reporting on the EU in Asia. From anextended period after 2016 when the vast majority of Asia’s EU news was devoted
to Brexit, in March 2020, the pandemic issue emerged as more newsworthy and ofgreater salience and has impacted on perceptions and expectations of the EU. Brexit
was no longer the headline story.

M. Holland (B)University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealande-mail: martin.holland@canterbury.ac.nz© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
K. Haba and M. Holland (eds.), Brexit and After,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-7969-1_1

3

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M. Holland

1 A History of Ambivalence
Unanticipated surprises are something of a motif for the UK’s relationship with theEuropean integration process as a review of the past 70 years lays bare. A historyof reluctance, antagonism and scepticism has (with one exception) typically characterised relations under the nine UK Prime Ministers—irrespective of party—that
have held office since 1973. Indeed, the UK holds the rare distinction to have been
the only state to be rejected twice for membership (1963 and 1967), to have held two
referendums after joining (1975 and 2016) and as of 2020, the first country to activate
Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty to formally end membership. The 2016 referendum
result should not have come as such a surprise to anyone with an understanding of
this troubled history.
Albeit two or more generations ago, the UK’s initial scepticism towards post-war
Franco-German reconciliation signalled general British disbelief in the European
integration process. Had the UK accepted the invitation to participate in the founding
meetings including that in Messina in 1955, the trajectory of European integration
would undoubtedly have been different and a Brexit mentality less likely to emerge.
A missed leadership opportunity and arguably the greatest post-war mistaken policy
choice by Britain.
With the benefit of hindsight, it appears that General de Gaulle was perceptive as well as prescient in his reasoning behind vetoing the UK’s applications formembership in the 1960s. His critique at that time that the UK lacked a real vocation and commitment to European integration other than for commercial reasons
has subsequently proved accurate. This antagonism notwithstanding, Conservative
Prime Minister Edward Health successfully secured British membership in 1973, if
with the dubious claim to have been given the ‘full-hearted consent’ of the British
public by winning the 1970 UK General Election. This Europhoria was not fully
shared by his successor, Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson, who—after renegotiating the terms on British membership, became the first UK politician to use areferendum. A degree of national amnesia seems to have affected the memory of thesubsequent two-thirds majority in favour of these new terms of membership.
The decade of Margaret Thatcher as UK’s Conservative Party Prime Minister still
casts the longest shadow pertaining to Brexit some 30 years on. Demands for a UK
financial contribution rebate and her Bruges speech serve as appropriate bookends
for the fractious 1980s decade, notwithstanding the success normally associates with
Britain’s support for the completion of the ‘1992’ Single Market project. Under
her successor, John Major, the British Government did finally force through theparliamentary ratification of the Maastricht Treaty, if at the cost of a fundamental
rupture within the Conservative Party that sowed the seeds for Brexit a quarter century
later.
The one real exception to this Eurosceptic narrative was articulated by Labour
Party Prime Minister Tony Blair who remains the only contemporary British politician to have endorsed, in principle, British membership of the Eurozone and adoption of the common currency (once his five economic tests were achieved—which

1 Brexit in the Time of Coronavirus

5

they never were). With Blair’s replacement by Gordon Brown, a coherent proEuropean Union agenda became less evident, and in 2010, David Cameron became
the country’s next Conservative Party Prime Minister, albeit of a coalition government. Perhaps ironically, the results in Britain of the 2014 European Parliament election elevated support for the UK Independence Party (UKIP) to previously unknown
heights. Based on a turn-out of 35.4%, UKIP topped the poll with 26.6% of the voteand relegated the Conservatives into third place, an outcome that provoked Cameron
to follow his ill-fated referendum strategy.
Despite conducting what was, in hindsight, a modest but successful renegotiation of Britain’s terms of membership (related to immigration and the politicalcommitment to ‘an ever closer union’) as well as campaigning for a ‘Yes’ vote in
the referendum, the ‘No’ victory effectively undermined the 43-year legacy of his
Conservative predecessor Edward Heath and led to Cameron’s own resignation. As
the subsequent, 4 years repeatedly illustrated, Brexit, however, was far from done.
Theresa May became the fifth Conservative Prime Minister since the UK first joined,
called an election in which she lost her majority, belatedly triggered Article 50 andafter 15 months of fraught negotiations signed a 585-page withdrawal agreementwith the EU: in July 2018 a White Paper on ‘The Future Relationship between the
United Kingdom and the European Union’ was finally introduced. The tone was,however, strident, announcing:… ending the days of sending vast sums of money to the EU every year. We will take backcontrol of our money, laws, and borders, and begin a new exciting chapter in our nation’s
history.1

Despite this jingoism, the parliamentary legislation needed to ratify this agreement
was defeated on four occasions provoking European Council President Donald Tusk
to utter his memorably frank comment about that ‘special place in hell’ for ‘those
who promoted Brexit without even a sketch of a plan of how to carry it out safely’.2
The original Brexit deadline of 29 March 2019 was missed culminating in May’s
eventual resignation and ultimate replacement by Boris Johnson by the summer of
2019.
Johnson too negotiated a (remarkably similar) Withdrawal Agreement with the
EU but faced with a similar road-block to May, missed the new 31 October departure
deadline. The deadlock was only resolved after Johnson was able to engineer a snapelection and subsequently secure a landslide majority at the December 2019 General
Election with the promise to ‘get Brexit Done’. Legally leaving—as the UK did on
31st January 2020—has far from ended Brexit, however.
By the end of February 2020, Commission President von der Leyen announced
optimistically that the EU mandate stood ‘ready to build a close, ambitious partnership with the UK’.3 Negotiations on this new relationship commenced in early
1 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-future-relationship-between-the-united-kin

gdom-and-the-european-union/the-future-relationship-between-the-united-kingdom-and-the-eur
opean-union-html-version.
2 https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-47143135.
3 @vonderleyen#newbeginnings.

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M. Holland

March 2020 with fortnightly chief negotiators meetings structured around the workof 10 working groups. Perhaps in a sign of goodwill, it was agreed the working
language would be just English; however, pessimism had surfaced by the end of thefirst round of negotiations (held face-to-face in Brussels and then conducted virtuallyconsequential to the pandemic). As reflected in the conclusion offered by the EU’s
chief negotiator, Michael Barnier:
To be completely frank with you … there are many divergences and they are very
serious divergences’ … such as competition rules, fisheries and future oversight of
the UK-EU relationship.4
The end of June 2020 was set as the deadline for deciding whether to extend
the negotiation period beyond the end of the year—something that legally required
both the UK and the EU to endorse. The UK, however, consistently and repeatedly
asserted that it would not request any such extension, opting not to use the legitimate
excuse of the pandemic to force a delay. A tweet from the UK’s chief negotiator,
David Frost, made this clear as late as mid-April 2020: Extending would simply
prolong negotiations, create even more uncertainty, leave us liable to pay more to
the EU in future and keep us bound by evolving EU laws at a time when we need tocontrol our own affairs. In short, it is not in the UK’s interest to extend.5
The British assessment of progress after the third round of negotiations concluded(by video-link) in mid-May 2020 were no more encouraging: again, according toDavid Frost,
we made very little progress towards agreement of the most significant outstanding
issues between us… The major obstacle … is the EU’s insistence on including a setof novel and unbalanced proposals on the so-called ‘level playing field’…
It is hard to understand why the EU insists on an ideological approach whichmakes it more difficult to reach a mutually beneficial agreement.6
If this position prevails, at the end of the transition period, only the barest bones of a
new framework for relations will be in place beyond the minimum WTO provisions
that apply to trade between all countries and perhaps possible temporary sectoralarrangements. And worryingly, whatever emerges will also have to go through thenormal ratification processes including a European Parliament Strasbourg plenary
session (scheduled for November 2020). As Barnier noted, the EU would not agreewith a deal ‘at any price’ fore-warning that there would be ‘complex, demanding
negotiations’.7
The only thing that seemed certain was that as of 1 January 2021 the current
transition conditions would cease to apply and the UK could claim to have regained
its pre-1973 sovereignty. For the EU, at this point, the UK would assume the legal
status of a normal third country.

4 (https://euobserver.com/brexit/147645.
5 https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-52313042.
6 https://twitter.com/DavidGHFrost?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%

5Eauthor.
7 https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-51623444.

1 Brexit in the Time of Coronavirus

7

2 The EU27 in today’s Global Context
Parallel to the vagaries of the Brexit negotiation process, simultaneously the EU27
have sought to reassert their identity, deepen solidarity and reassure the world that
Brexit would not reduce the EU’s international capability.
Contrary to some media speculation, the EU27 remains of fundamental importance within the current context of global disruption—whether created by Trump,
Putin, Xi Jinping or Covid19. With the departure of the UK the collective international weight of the EU has clearly changed. The EU27 population was reduced to
434 million and the EU budget expected to fall by around 15%. And only France
now reflected EU common interests on the UN Security Council as a permanent
member. Yet the EU still accounts for around 20% of global GDP, represents over
15% of global two-way trade, ranks first for FDI and is by far the world’s leading
ODA contributor. France, Germany and Italy occupy three seats of the G7 as well as
G20, which also grants a seat to the EU. On balance, the predictions of a shrinking
EU in the wake of Brexit have largely been found wanting and EU solidarity hasremained remarkably high since the 23 June 2016 UK referendum—future expansion in membership rather than other countries leaving the EU seems more likely. In
the most recently released Standard Eurobarometer, 70% of the surveyed Europeansvalued being citizens of the EU.8 In addition, EU citizens showed more trust in the
EU than in their national government: 43% of the surveyed respondents trusted theEU, while the figure for national governments and parliaments was just 34%.
From a contemporary strategic perspective, the EU refined and refocused its international role with the publication of the 2016 European Union Global Strategy(EUGS). This 50-page consensus-based document was developed over the 2015/16
period and consequently, the UK was involved in its formulation. The timing forrelease of the EUGS was noteworthy although potentially unhelpful, occurring just4 days after the Brexit referendum result! Remarkably perhaps, the EUGS appeared
largely unaltered by Brexit, other than a modified preamble from the then High
Representative Frederica Mogherini:
In challenging times, a strong Union is one that thinks strategically, shares a vision
and acts together. This is even more true after the British referendum.9
The EUGS sets out the EU’s self-perception of its international role—the term
‘global’ refers to both the all-of-the-world focus and to the comprehensive andconscious linking of different policy sectors to increase the EU’s impact. Initiatedunder the former High Representative Mogherini and continued subsequently byHigh Representative Josep Borrell, the EUGS underlines the EU’s desire and intention to play an important international role in every forum. Brexit seems not to havediminished this ambition even if the capabilities that the EU can now call on may
have inevitably changed.
This change in the EU’s image—from 28 to now 27 member states—by chancecoincided with EU’s normal quinquennial change in its leadership. By the end of
8 Standard Eurobarometer (2019).
9 EU Global Strategy (2016).

8

M. Holland

2019, leadership position replacements had taken place in all five EU institutions—the Presidents of the Council, the European Parliament, the Commission, the European Central Bank and the foreign policy High Representative. For the first time since1973, there was no UK member of the Commission, and in part to dispel any loweringof expectations around the EU’s global role, the incoming President Ursula von derLeyen created the EU’s first so-called ‘Geo-political’ Commission to underline thisnew post-Brexit EU agenda.

3 Media Reporting of the EU
The findings from a series of international studies conducted since 2015 have consistently shown that the international news media have enjoyed a diet of Euroscepticism and subsequent Brexit in its framing of the European Union.10 Historically,
this media Brexit preoccupation has been especially marked within the Asia–Pacificregion. Consequently, the news coverage of the post-Brexit transition negotiations
that commenced in the first quarter of 2020 was expected to continue to dominate
the reporting of EU news. This trajectory came to an abrupt halt and the media’s
attention in the Asia–Pacific jettisoned their previous obsession with Brexit andoverwhelmingly refocused their analysis of the EU around Covid-19 rather than
Brexit.
The accompanying data presented here comes from a Jean Monnet Network grantcommenced in 202011 and is focused on how the media reports the EU in three
countries—China, Japan and Indonesia. These have consistently and historically
been the Asian countries where the EU has been reported the most and serve as agood indicator of EU news framing. The data represents all EU news stories reported
in March 2020 in 10 monitored newspapers (three each in China and Indonesia, fourin Japan). This short snapshot was chosen to coincide with the first round of the
Brexit transition negotiations and where media interest would be presumed to behigh.
Comparable traditional press was chosen: for Japan, this was Yomiuri Shimbun,
Asahi Shimbun, Nihon Keizai Shimbun, the Japan Times; for China People’s Daily,
Economic Daily, China Daily; and for Indonesia Kompas, Bisnis Indonesia, The
Jakarta Post. In the three Chinese newspapers, there were a total of 171 EU-related
news stories, roughly two news items a day (a level similar to previous studies over thelast decade). For Japan, the total was 239, again replicating the usual pattern historically found of around three news stories a day (see Fig. 1). In contrast, Indonesia
seemed considerably less interested in EU news and recorded just a total of 61 news

10 Holland and Chaban (2018, 2015).
11 Renewal versus Global Disruption–Asia’s Expectations of the EU (EXPECT): Jean Monnet

Project No. 611168-EPP-1–2019-1-NZ-EPPJMO-NETWORK.

1 Brexit in the Time of Coronavirus

9
China

180

Indonesia

Japan

160

No. of news item

140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0

Popular Daily 1 Popular Daily 2* Business Daily English-language
Daily

Fig. 1 EU news in three Asian countries in March 2020
Table 1 Total EU news andcovered topics in March 2020
for 10 monitored newspapers
in China, Japan, Indonesia

Total EU
news stories

China

Indonesia

Japan

171

61

239

Most frequent Covid-19
storiesSecondRefugee crisis Bilateral tradeissuesPost-Brexit
negotiation

Third

Post-Brexit
negotiation

Refugee crisis

RefugeecrisisFourthEU new
climate bill

Data protection EU new
climate bill

Fifth

Enlargement–

Data
protection

items, averaging at less than one story per publication per day for the month ofMarch.12
As noted above, the first round of post-Brexit negotiations proper commenced in
the first week of March 2020 and intensified media interest was anticipated to reflect
this next stage in the process. Table 1 shows that the media across all three countries
prioritized the emergence of Covid-19 in Europe in their EU reporting and although
the level of overall EU news coverage remained familiar, the focus of the reportingon EU news underwent a remarkable transformation. Over half of these EU news
reports related to the pandemic, except in the Indonesia popular daily Kompas (butBrexit was not a focus of attention in Kompas either).
The reporting of Covid-19 peaked in the third week (15th–21st) of March, theperiod when the outbreak of Covid-19 began to receive serious acknowledgement
12 Data used in all the Tables are from the EXPECT research project’s as yet unpublished findings.

10

M. Holland

Table 2 EU-related news reporting on Covid-19 in Asian four popular dailies
Month of March:

1–7

8–15

16–21

22–31

People’s daily

1

6

11

7

Yomiuri Shimbun

6

16

20

9

Asahi Shimbun

2

5

16

4

Kompas02

1

3

in Europe, especially in Italy. There was a commensurate decline in the coverage of
Brexit (see Tables 2 and 3 and Figs. 2 and 3).
Examples of these trends were most clearly evident in both Japanese mainstream
dailies. Historically, Japanese media has been more interested in reporting Brexit
25
Yomiuri Shimbun

No. of news item

20
15

Asahi Shimbun

10

People's Daily

5
Kompas0

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Week 5

Fig. 2 EU-related news reporting on Covid-19 in Asian popular dailies
87

Yomiuri Shimbun

No. of news item

6
5
4

Asahi Shimbun

3
2

People's Daily

10

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Week 5

Fig. 3 EU-related news that mentioned Brexit in Japanese and Chinese popular dailies

1 Brexit in the Time of Coronavirus

11than its Asian counterparts. It was still the case in the data of March 2020, yet, a shiftof interest was obvious. Of the total of 73 and 53 EU stories reported during March
2020 in the Yomiuri Shimbun and Asahi Shimbun respectively, Covid-19-related EU
news accounted for 70% (51) and 51% (27) of these stories. The comparable figuresin China during the same period saw 60% (25 out of 42) of EU news published in
The People’s Daily focused on EU-Covid-19 stories. Indeed, if March is divided at
the midpoint, for every publication between two-thirds and 80% of their Covid-19
EU news was published in the last 2 weeks on the month.
The dramatic change in direction for the Chinese and Japanese media emerges
in early March (Table 3). In both countries, EU-related stories on Brexit peaked in
the first week of March (coinciding with the first round of negotiations in Brussels)
before falling off dramatically to low single figures or even no Brexit stories for theremainder of the month. Overall, such Brexit news accounted for just three stories
in The People’s Daily (representing a mere 7% of the EU-related news that month)
12 (16%) in the Yomiuri Shimbun and 9 (17%) in the Asahi Shimbun. While all threenews articles in The People’s Daily focused on the lack of agreement between the
EU and the UK in the post-Brexit negotiation, only 3 out of the 12 pieces of news
which mentioned Brexit in Yomiuri Shimbun shared such interest. The other news
items merely mentioned Brexit on the sideline as a trivial backdrop. Similarly, onlya single news item in Asahi Shimbun had Brexit as the focus, the rest mentioned
Brexit in one or even just half a sentence. Finally, even given that the Indonesian
media’s general interest in the EU was close to non-existent, there was just a single
Brexit-related story published that month.
The outlying exception to this was the business-oriented daily Nihon Keizai
Shimbun in Japan and the English-language daily China Daily in China. In March
2020, 41 (out of 161) news articles from Nihon Keizai Shimbun as well as nine articles (out of 79) from China Daily mentioned Brexit. While these two newspapers
showed a clear interest in Brexit compared with their counterparts, Nihon Keizai
Shimbun and China Daily still only devoted 6% and 8% of their EU-related coverageon Brexit, respectively, in March 2020, while 43% and 53% of their EU-related
coverage, respectively, focused on Covid-19. In general, Brexit and its related tradeissues, contrary to expectation, seemed to no longer cast such a dominant shadow
over the Asian media’s framing of the EU.
Table 3 EU-related news that mentioned Brexit in selected Asian popular dailies
Month of March:

1–7

8–15

16–21

22–31

People’s daily

2

0

1

0

Yomiuri Shimbun

7

1

3

1

Asahi Shimbun

5

3

0

1

Kompas0001Nihon Keizai Shimbun

17

12

5

7

12

M. Holland

4 The EU in Social Media
Arguably Brexit was a social media phenomenon par excellence, used by both the
Leave and Remain campaigns in 2016 and subsequently by a broad range of activists
who contributed to the subsequent 43 months of political debate in the UK. After
January 2020, the role of social media became an important element within the transitional negotiations process as understood within the Asia–Pacific region. Mirroring
the traditional media structure outlined above, the level of EU news as well as the
proportions devoted to post-Brexit issues and Covid-19 EU-related news during
March 2020 is examined as used by six official social media platforms encompassing
Twitter, Facebook and Weibo (see Table 4). As shown in Fig. 4, there was quite awide variation in the use of social media platforms; the Ministries of Foreign Affairs
in Indonesia and China were active users, whereas the equivalent ministry in Japan
almost never engaged in this form of digital diplomacy. Conversely of the three EU
delegations, the one based in Tokyo was by far the most frequent user (on Twitter).
Overall, China was the leading location for this type of public diplomacy.
Table 4 Social media platforms monitored in China, Indonesia and Japan
China

Indonesia

Japan

Weibo account of
EU delegation to China
EU in China

Facebook account of
EU delegation to Indonesia
EU in Indonesia

Twitter account of
EU delegation to JapanEU in Japan

Weibo account of Europe desk
China ministry of foreign affairs
中欧信使

Twitter account of delegation
Europe III of Indonesia MFA
Direktorat eropa 3 kemlu RI

Twitter account ofMission of Japan to the EU
Japan mission EU

90

MFA

EU Delegation

80

no. of posts

70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0

China

Indonesia

Japan

Fig. 4 Level of Social Media activity of the monitored account in three Asian countries, March
2020

1 Brexit in the Time of Coronavirus

13

60

MFA

EU Delegation

no. of posts

50
40
30
20
10
0

China

Indonesia

Japan

Fig. 5 Number of posts in monitored social media accounts that mentioned the EU, March 2020

Although the social media accounts run by Delegation for European affairs ofChina Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Indonesia Ministry of Foreign Affairs wereactive in posting in March 2020, their posts seldom featured the EU (Fig. 5). The
social media accounts that were run by the EU delegations in third countries were
the ones responsible for contributing to online appearance of the Union.
What was striking was that of the 12 social media posts about the EU made by the
MFAs in China and Japan, not one concerned Brexit! Among the 110 posts whichfeatured the EU from the accounts of the three EU delegations, none mentioned Brexit
either. Contrary to the absence of interest in Brexit, Covid-19 was not unsurprisingly
drawing increasing attention in March 2020, and as Table 5 illustrates, only China’s
MFA released posts on the topic of the EU and the pandemic (accounting for 10 of
their 85 posts in March). The EU’s own Delegations certainly became more vocal as
the month progressed. Around half of all posts made by each of the three regional
EUDs in March profiled this topic (26 by the Tokyo EUD, 27 in Beijing and 9 in
Jakarta).

Table 5 Public diplomacy social media posts on the EU and Covid-19, March 2020
Month of March:

1–7

8–14

15–21

22–31

MFA China

0

2

6

2

MFA Indonesia

0

0

0

0

MFA Japan

0

0

0

0

EUD China

1

0

12

14

EUD Indonesia

0

0

3

6

EUD Japan

2

5

6

13

14

M. Holland

These data—both for the traditional and social media—pose questions for the
strategy of the EU’s public diplomacy post-Brexit and during the pandemic. Counterintuitively, the traditional media seemed to be the more receptive vehicle for profilingthe EU, even if the focus shifted dramatically from Brexit dominating the conversation to one where the visibility of the EU was subsumed within the Covid-19
framework. It was almost as if a Brexit vaccine had been found eradicating it fromthe public’s attention in Asia.

5 Economics Beyond Brexit
As other chapters in this collection discuss, the projections of the trade and economic
consequences of Brexit for the EU are numerous, varied and frequently pessimistic.
These analyses will remain at best speculative in the medium term and of course
fundamentally affected by the terms agreed during the 2020 transition period. The
possible contours of the EU27 s future economic and trade identity can be traced
partially through the EU negotiating mandate and the points of disagreement alluded
to already in this chapter.
The EU has argued for an overarching agreement, covering all aspects of future
relations: foreign policy, security cooperation, fish, trade, services, research, development and more. All disputes would be referred to a single arbitration panel andthe European Court of Justice would have the final word on any aspects touching
EU law. For the EU27, any final ‘agreement should uphold common high standards, and corresponding high standards over time with Union standards as a reference point’. Specifically, this would apply ‘in the areas of state aid, competition,state-owned enterprises, social and employment standards, environmental standards,
climate change, relevant tax matters and other regulatory measures and practices inthese areas’.13 Conversely, the UK’s ambition was significantly different14 and was
to secure a ‘comprehensive’ free trade (CFTA) (similar to the EU-Canada FTA) withextra agreements (such as for fishing) negotiated separately and governed by separate
dispute resolution mechanisms. Importantly, as we have noted above, the UK rejects
the “level-playing field” concerns of the EU over maintaining similar standards forenvironmental, labour and state aid regulations.
As the 2020 negotiations passed the midpoint, the litany of perceived issues
remained unresolved. In addition to the lack of a common consensus on the broad“level playing field”/state aid conditions, sectoral challenges were extensive covering
services, security and data sharing, fishing, the application of a ‘reference point’ andeven—potentially—the re-litigation of the Gibraltar issue. All that seemed certain
13 Council Decision (EU, Euratom) 2020/266 of 25 February 2020 authorising the opening of negotiations with the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland for a new partnershipagreement ST/5870/2020/INIT.
14 The Future Relationship with the EU. The UK’s Approach to Negotiations, https://assets.pub
lishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/868874/The_Fut
ure_Relationship_with_the_EU.pdf.

1 Brexit in the Time of Coronavirus

15

was—whatever the outcome—a new trading regime would be established, the EU’s
Single Market freedoms protected, and parameters of EU-UK trade changed. And
yet, while Brexit was predicted to be the greatest single economic challenge to face
the EU this decade, the pandemic has no longer made this the case. While in 2021, theEU27 will remain the world’s biggest trader of goods and services and second largest
economy, the economic impact of Covid-19 is expected to be significant and greaterthan Brexit. The European Commission’s May 2020 forecast expected the Eurozone
to contract by a record 7.75% in 2020 before growing by 6.25% in 2021. The EUwide economy will be similarly affected initially contracting by 7.5% before growing
by around 6% in 2021. The sharpest declines were predicted for Greece (9.7%), Italy(9.5%) and in Spain (9.4%), with this downturn estimated to likely be significantly
worse than the 2009 crisis, when the EU economy contracted by 4.5%. An unevenrecovery among member states could also threaten the stability of the Euro. Public
debt within the Eurozone is expected to increase to 102.7% of GDP in 2020, up from
86% with the debt ratio for Eurozone’s third largest economy—Italy—particularly
precarious at 158.9% predicted for 2020. As Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni notedon 6 May 2020, ‘It is now quite clear that the EU has entered the deepest economic
recession in its history’.15
It may prove to be the case that some things are more important—and possibly
more enduring—than Brexit, a conclusion that was all but unthinkable before Covid19. Just as Brexit in part was a reaction against the free movement of people andthe commitment to deeper integration across a broader spectrum of policy domains,
Covid-19 has presented brutal challenges to some of the integration process’s mostsacred principles. The open borders of Schengen, subsidiarity and assigning responsibilities between the EU and its Member States and even the scale of the EU budget
and the concept of debt mutualisation. It may be difficult to disentangle the individual impacts of Brexit and Covid-19, but together they herald a new experience forsolidarity. Only time will tell if this experience will enhance or diminish integration
for the EU27.

References
EU Global Strategy. (2016). EU global strategy (p. 3). Luxembourg: European Union.
Holland, M., & Chaban, N. (Eds.). (2015). Communicating Europe in the times of crisis: External
perceptions of the European union. Palgrave-McMillan.
Holland, M., & Chaban, N. (Eds.). (2018). Shaping the EU global strategy: Partners and perceptions.
London: Palgrave.
Standard Eurobaromete. (2019). Standard Eurobarometer 92 was conducted in November 2019and published in December 2019. Available at https://ec.europa.eu/commfrontoffice/publicopi
nion/index.cfm/Survey/getSurveyDetail/instruments/STANDARD/surveyKy/2255. Accessed on
4th June 2020.

15 https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/speech_20_822.

16

M. Holland

Martin Holland holds a Jean Monnet Chair ad personam, is Director of both the National Centre
for Research on Europe at the University of Canterbury and of European Union Centres Network
in New Zealand. He is the current Secretary-General of the EU studies Association of the AsiaPacific and the leader of the “EXPECT” Jean Monnet perceptions project (2019–2022). He is theauthor of twenty-five authored or edited books and internationally recognised for his work on
EU Development Policy, Common Foreign and Security Policy and as well as Perceptions of theEU. He has received a number of notable awards including: a European University Institute Jean
Monnet Fellowship; Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship; Rockerfeller Bellagio Fellowship; anda Bene Merito award from the Polish Foreign Ministry.

Chapter 2

Post-Brexit and Post-Corona: The UK,
the EU and Central East Europe:‘Illiberal Democracy’ and the Influenceof China
Kumiko Haba
Abstract In this chapter, the author investigates and analyzes the effect of Brexit
in the UK after Covid-19, the expansion of China’s influence in the Central–East–
Southern half of the European Union, and the emerging narrative of “Illiberal Democracy” from Hungary’s leader Victor Orbán that is shaking western values in Central
East Europe* .
In the UK, the birthplace of parliamentary democracy, the parliament rejected theWithdrawal Agreement negotiated between the EU and Prime Minister May on threeoccasions. After the May government resigned, the government of Boris Johnson in
the wake of a general election victory (December 2019) was able to secure a prompt
exit from the EU at the end of January 2020.
However, the new economic relationship between the EU and the UK is yet to bereconstructed.
Negotiations remain on-going at a time when Covid-19 continues to cause a large
loss of life and major economic disruption. It is a phenomenon not to be overlooked,
that Asian Countries controlled Covid-19 very well, including Australia and New
Zealand, but especially Hong Kong, Taiwan and Vietnam.

* The author defines this region, Central East Europe, according to the definition of Oscar Halecki.

Central East Europe lies in the Eastern part of Central Europe between Germany and Russia, andthe area’s nations are currently members of the EU. Historically, this area was under the controlof the Habsburg Empire, the German Empire, or the Russian Empire. Politically this region was
influenced by democracy, liberalism, socialism and independence, and continued to seek freedom
and liberation against the Soviet system. It is also a region where the people refer to themselves as“Central Europe” and insist on the unfairness of referring to them as “Eastern Europe” during theend of the Cold War and the period of negotiations for accession to the EU. Historically, most of
citizens of this region tried to embody European values rather than European skepticism, but mostof their life have been under the control of neighboring big powers. Although they have been leading
the European Revolution in 1989, after joining the EU, they began insisting nationalism, populism,
unique democracy and economic development. Halecki (1980). Kumiko Haba, Nationality Questionin Integrating Europe, Kodansha Gendaishinsho, 1994–2004. Kumiko Haba, Enlarging Europe,
Searching Central Europe, Iwanami Publisher, 1998–2003.
K. Haba (B)Aoyama Gakuin University, Tokyo, Japane-mail: kumihaba@sipeb.aoyama.ac.jp© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
K. Haba and M. Holland (eds.), Brexit and After,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-7969-1_2

17

18

K. Haba

How will the post-Covid-19 world change? The trend of international ‘power politics’ in the early twenty-first century appears to be strengthening, Chinese influenceis widening through the 16 + 1 and 17 + 1 policy and is making itself felt acrosshalf of the European Union. As a result of Brexit, the future of Britain’s political andeconomic clout remains uncertain.
Are we now truly witnessing a shift in the global order when the economic andmedical reliance and wider influence of Asian countries become a reality post-Brexit
and once Covid-19 abates?

Introduction: Post-Brexit: The UK, the EU, Central East Europe
and China
This article analyzes and investigates the following three points on a historical basis
and geopolitical background from the viewpoint of international politics before andafter Brexit.
(1) The transformation of Power in Europe, (2) The withdrawal of the United
Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) and its effect, and (3) The declineof traditional European values, in the face of the promotion of ‘Illiberal Democracy’
and the influence of China. In so doing, it focuses on the following three parts.
(a) The changing process of the relations among three parts of Europe: the UK,
Europe and Central East Europe, (b) The transformation process of power relations of European integration, and (c) The expansion of China’s influence to Europe(especially to the eastern and southern part of Europe).
EU research can sometimes come across as being too Brussels centric or focusing
too much on the United Kingdom, Germany, and France. However, as is well known,
the EU consisted of 28 countries (27 since the departure of the United Kingdom).
Following the end of the Cold War, the bloc expanded eastwards on three occasions:
2004, 2007, and 2013 that brought 11 countries of former Eastern Europe (as well
as Cyprus and Malta) into the organization. As a result, the EU not only expanded
geographically, it also expanded the reach of its value system. This point must not
be neglected.
Enlargement also ensured that the EU became the world’s largest economic organization, not least surpassing the United States’ in terms of GDP, prior to the 2010–12
Euro Crisis.
However, since the early twenty-first century, the flip-side of its economic strength
has been an increase in economic inequality and the reduction of social security andhealthcare as a result of neo-liberal “small government” policy.
Simultaneously, there was the economic growth of China and India. In particular,
China’s growth and “Belt and Road strategy” has resulted in the 16 (countries inCentral and Eastern Europe) + 1(China) beginning to forge closer ties. This has

2 Post-Brexit and Post-Corona: The UK, the EU and Central East Europe …

19

witnessed China beginning to enter the border region of Central East Europe within
the EU as a result of infrastructure development, investment, trade, and railway
construction, and via its offer of medical and social security care during the Covid-19
pandemic.
After the UK withdrawal from the EU, 11 of 27 countries are Central East Europe,and with the participation of Serbia and Balkan countries in the future, geopoliticallythe EU will move further east and south, not only geographically but also in termsof values and behavior.
If the influence of China and Russia increases, will the traditional characteristics of the EU (which had been forged by Western Europe) be changed greatly bydevelopments in the east and south?
Therefore, it will be necessary to reconsider that nearly half of the EU is constitutedby the countries of Central East and Southern Europe, not only considering that they
are “poor and backward” region, but we need to investigate and analyze the new
structural position of the EU greatly transforming from west to east and south, after
the result of the withdrawal of the UK from the EU. As we will see in the latter half,
China has expanded its influence on 16–17 countries of the EU, including Greece.1
It might be possible that half of the EU member states will receive greater influence
from China and other Asian countries than from the EU headquarters in Brussels,in economics, trade, investment, and infrastructure development. Could that also
result in a competing set of values within the geographical space of the EU? Such a
possibility cannot be overlooked or neglected.
It is not a nightmare that the main powers of the EU may be replaced by China
and Central Europe or Central East Europe without realizing it.
(1) After Brexit and the Corona Crisis in Europe
In spring (February to June) 2020, the dramatic impact of Covid-19 especially against
five major European countries (Spain, Italy, UK, France and Germany) and the USA.
This resulted in the economic harm of developed countries in the EU and the USA, andopens the door for the expansion of the influence of China on the EU, especially to theeastern half of the EU, in Eastern and Southern Europe in the long run. Coronavirus is
not the reason for the process but it has strengthened and promoted such a tendency.
Another part of the reason is the impact of Brexit. In one part, it brought with it
the ‘decline of authority’ traditionally associated with the UK not least as a result of
the impasse within the House of Commons. The time and energy taken up by Brexit
also impaired the UKs validity and political leadership to solve the problems in theEU, and in the world as well. Such impairment can also be witnessed with the USA
as a result of the decisions of the Trump administration.
In addition, during the Covid-19 crisis in the USA and Europe, the spread of theinfection and the number of fatalities in the UK has been extremely high; even Prime
Minister Boris Johnson was infected. The government’s failure to adequately deal
with the outbreak compared to other countries has undoubtedly damaged the UK’s
standing in the world.
1 Sato (2019).

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K. Haba

The policy failure not to be part of the EU’s joint medical assistance (initiallyappearing to insist on a herd-immunity strategy), and the decision not to be part of
the EU respirator acquisition program further damaged the UK’s reputation. As aresult, of the decisions made in the USA and Europe, Anglo–Saxon leadership has
shown itself to be much less effective than one might have expected.
On the other hand, Covid-19 infection rate after the dramatic expansion of China’s
rapid measures and in South Korea, ASEAN countries, Taiwan, Hong Kong and New
Zealand of infection suppression has shown a superior set of leadership examples.
Thus, what we are witnessing is the flow “from the USA and Europe to Asia”, was
not only economic and information, but also medical care, social order, and infection
control.
The measures against Coronavirus have also adopted a different strategy between
Asia and the USA and Europe. The US and European systems chose “lock-down.”
On the other hand, the Asian medical social system emphasized “self-restraint,”
suppression, cleanliness, Confucian community and solidarity, etc. Corona infection
ability and death rate were the same, 2–3%, but the Asian approach appears to have
had a decisive advantage in preventing the spread of corona infection and mortality
rates.
Another thing that has not been paid much attention to in the corona crisis is thelow mortality rate in the old Socialist countries. Russia recently took place strong
infection, but it shows less dead than 1% mortality. (Of course, the possibility ofstatistical deficiencies cannot be ruled out). In former communist countries otherthan Russia, infected persons also increased, but mortality rates have been smaller
than the European great powers, except for Germany. Spain and Italy across the board
experienced 13% mortality; Central East European countries are less than half. (onlyin Hungary, the number of infected people is low: about 3535, but the death rate isalmost 13%, 462, but the death rate in Romania and Poland is less than 4–6% of
infected persons.)
In this article, the author investigates the important key, the relationship among
the UK, the EU and Central East Europe under post-Brexit and Corona crisis, helping
predict the European and global political economy but has not been much discussed
until now, and the EU has consciously been neglected. Moreover, the author examines
the expansion of the influence of China, not only in economy but also on medicalcare, and clarifies the transformation of the EU structure after Brexit and Corona.

1 The United Kingdom, Europe, Central East
Europe—Historical and Geopolitical BackgroundCentral East Europe, that is to say, former Eastern Europe or East Central Europe
area has the following geopolitical characteristics.

2 Post-Brexit and Post-Corona: The UK, the EU and Central East Europe …

21(1) Historically and geographically, it is surrounded by strong neighbors, Germany
and Russia (Soviet Union). It is a multiethnic region. However, precisely becauseof this, in order to not be swallowed up by the influence of two large powers, (2)The UK and the USA, as counterparts and as the expectations on the role of liberal
democracy and military forces were introduced and were present in force.
This area is historically under the so-called “Resale serf system (Die Zweite
Leibeigenschaft)” (Engels).2 In the development and modernization process ofWestern industrialization, it was incorporated into the structure; western modernization was supported by “resale serfdom.” It is also a hinterland of agriculture, andas a result, it became an area where the liberation of nations and the liberation ofserfs were delayed.
(1) Premature Political Awareness and Immature Economic System
Due to the historical experience mentioned above, Central and Eastern Europe were
often labeled as having a “premature political consciousness and immature economic
system” (Esterhazy).3
Consequently, the movements of liberation of farmers and people existed from anearly stage. It is also a region where Western liberalism, nationalism, democracy ofthe people and the idea of labor movement have already existed since the nineteenth
century.
Such a “premature political consciousness and immature economic system”
combined with the characteristics of the hinterland supporting modernization of
the West forms the unique character of Central East Europe.
(2) Trust in Liberalism and Democracy
Under these circumstances, as a feature of Central East Europe, in order to counter
against Germany in the West, and to counter against Russia in the East, the USA
and the UK as the symbol of liberalism, democracy, modernization, and national
liberation of the principle was relied upon strongly. With the fusion of feudalistic
characters and modern philosophy, the region evolved it will grow as a unique ethnic
area that had a hybrid character.
For example, in particular Poland, already a premodern system, under feudalism
existed as “noble republic system (Polish: Rzeczpospolita)—to elect a king in feudal
parliament".4 That was its historical experience.
It is well known that nations in Central East Europe drew upon the political modelof the UK and USA (nationalism, liberalism, and democracy) in their struggle against
the Habsburg Empire, the German Empire, and the Russian Empire during the WorldWar I.

2 Nakamura (1977).
3 Esterhazy Peter, translated by Mika Waseda, “Eyes of the Countess of Hahn-Hahn—Down the

Danube” (Imagination of Eastern Europe 3), 2008.
4 Naruhito Toriyama, “Aristocratic Republic of Poland”, Hokkaido History, 1960–07.

22

K. Haba

Liberalism and democracy (as well as the ideas of the socialist movement) would
be used against Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union in the World War II, as tools
to try and counter domination. This was inspired by UK liberalism, the nationstate philosophy and the German social democracy movement. During WWI, theycollaborated with the USA and the UK, and developed antiGerman and antiSoviet
Union movements.
It is well known that during the Cold War, Central and Eastern countries repeatedlysought to break away from Soviet domination: restoring independence, sovereignty,
and “Socialism with a human face.” They also hoped that the USA and Britain mightliberalize democracy and restore unity in Europe. That is, because it was historicallygeographically surrounded by military powers like Germany and Soviet Russia, theliberal idea was a powerful symbol for them. The values that they held onto in thehope of liberating themselves were the liberalism of Britain, democracy in France,social democracy, and “socialism with a human face.”
Especially Poland, which found itself occupied by Nazi Germany and the Soviet
Union. It formed a government-in-exile that was based in London that continued forthe duration of the War and the Cold War.5(3) Relation Between the UK and Central East Europe After the End of the Cold
War
What then about the relationship between Britain, the EU, and Central East Europe
after the end of the Cold War and after the EU enlargement?
(1) Central East Europe was basically and economically in the framework of theGerman economy.
(2) That is why they expected the support and the leadership of the UK, after
the end of the Cold War. Large amounts of young students, professionals,
women, skilled, and unskilled workers utilizing their rights as EU citizens took
employment in the UK, France, Germany, as well as Brussels with the EU
headquarters.
(3) This resulted in the local people of the UK feeling a sense of discomfort toward
the immigration from Central East Europe and exacerbated the relationshipbetween the UK and Central East Europe and triggered the UK resistance toward
the EU regarding immigrants and the EU bureaucracy.

5 Galinsky (1985).

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23

2 The EU Enlargement and the EU’s Ruthless Treatment
of Central East Europe
From 1996, the so-called “EU Eastward Enlargement” started, and the accession
negotiations (Copenhagen criteria), began. There also existed the feeling in the westside of the EU, that Central East Europe, which was the former communist bloc, thatthe countries were heterogeneous, and requested them to become integrated with the
EU in political, economic, and social contact to through EU law (compliance withthe acquis). It changed the life, economy, and social style of Central East Europe,
which had been completely different for decades.6
While staying in Hungary in 1995 and in London in 1996 for a total of 2 years, theauthor witnessed the disparities and structural changes in the EU due to the expansionof the EU.7
From 1995 to 2004, as a result of removing the vestiges of the socialist system,
and being forced to comply with Brussels’ Western standards, liberalization, democratization, and marketization, people from across Central East European recoiled
against the EU. At the turn of the century from the twentieth to twenty-first, andfrom 2004 to 2007, upon getting the membership of the EU, the dream and reality’s
discrepancies began.
Because of the gap between the West and East, Western Europe set the policyin terms of a “Europe of the two-speeds and two dimensions.” The fact thatdomestic governments across Central and Eastern Europe adopted policies, in order
to comply with the demands of the EU, cost them politically as their citizens became
disgruntled.8
In particular, consider the Polish dairy products and wine, agricultural products
like Foie gras in Hungary, traditional and historical special products of Central East
Europe. The EU wanted to protect the vested interests of the EU members in Western
Europe by limiting market access of the products of new member states, and using EU
subsidies to, for example, shrink vineyards in the region, which caused widespreaddissatisfaction in East European nations. The EU consciously lowered wages inCentral East Europe to keep the EU competitive with Asia.9
All these situations in the EU disparities spread discontent and nationalism inCentral East Europe against the EU.
Below, this article analyzes the UK’s decision to withdraw from the EU in June
2020, and the transformation of the power inside the EU, and the influence of the
Brexit impact,(1) The relative decline of the power of the EU,(2) China and India, especially China’s Belt and Road Initiative and Central East
Europe,6 Haba (2004).
7 Haba (1998).
8 Haba et al. (2006), Haba (2004b).
9 Csaba (2006).

24

K. Haba(3) And “Illiberal democracy,” conservatism and nationalism, and Euro-skepticism
in Central East Europe.
In particular, in the latter half pages, I investigate China beginning to enter andcollaborate with 16 + 1, which happened in 2019.(including Greece 17 + 1).10 On
the topic of construction, we consider such the facts of Central East Europe in thearea of constructing roads, railway infrastructure, development, and investment.
It is also revealed that Brexit, not only led to the rapid decline of Britain’s power on
the European continent (not just with EU member states) its prestige is also waning
in the neighboring small countries and the former colonies of the British Empire.
This effect is seen even in the UK–Japan relationship, which has been a historically friendly collaboration for 150 years, except during WWII, and the UK was themodel of Japanese modernization. However, after Brexit, Honda and Hitachi haveannounced plans to withdraw from the UK.
Eastern and Southern European countries have also been observing and learningfrom the reality of the international situation and the UK’s Brexit experiences andhave cautiously determined that a different path is in order. They do not withdraw
from the EU; they are taking the opposite actions that the UK is taking. That is, inother words, even though they are dissatisfied with the EU, they remain inside theEU, and aim to oppose and reform from the inside.
The UK, leaving the EU is no more the leader of the half billion people in the EU’s
political, military and economic system. Even though the UK has only 55 million
inhabitants, it has the world’s fifth largest GDP after Germany. After the decision of
Brexit, Boris Johnson approached China and wished to ask for additional investment
in nuclear power generation and collaboration with Hua Wei’s 5G system.
This was postponed by the expansion of the coronavirus. China started a “masks
diplomacy” after the recovery of Wuhan’s situation from the end of March, but there
is another problem, which is that it was revealed that many masks and antibody test
kits were defective in Europe and were not certified by the Chinese government.11
The evaluation of the UK changed drastically during the 3 years since June 2016.
In the rest of this chapter, we will investigate the transformation of the British international status and how the power relations in the European continent have changed
politically and economically, and how China or Russia is seeking to build linkages
in Europe.

10 Tonami (2019). Astrid (2018).
11 BBC News Japan (2020).

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25

3 Transformation of British International Status
and Change of Power Relations in Europe
From the so-called imperialism era of the nineteenth century until World War I, theBritish Empire was the model of modern capitalism. Its role was symbolized by thesterling pound and Union Jack national flag.
After World War II, even though the top position of economics and military was
assumed by the USA and the Soviet Union, the collaboration between the USA
and the UK remained an important symbol of the European Community is a bulwark
against the Soviet influence during the Cold War. During that era, although the global
role of the UK was in decline, it still continued a leadership role in military, politics,
and economy in the EC/EU.
Major changes would take place after the end of the Cold War. In 1989, theformer Eastern European countries abandoned socialism, seeking instead a “Returnto Europe.” The role of Germany was expanding to the East, at the turn of the
century from the twentieth to twenty-first. On the other hand, China and other AsianASEAN countries rapidly were rising and collaborating with the EU and as part of
the ASEM (Asia Europe Meeting—established in 1996) which had adopted a threepillar structure encompassing political, economic, and social culture matters. Morespecially, the politics strand dealt with terrorism, maritime security, energy security,
disaster prevention, immigration problem, the economic strand saw the formation of
the Asia-Europe Business Forum (AEBF), while the sociocultural strand dealt with
culture, arts, education, youth, and the exchange of students. The ASEM decided to
put an emphasis on “open regionalism.”.12(1) The Center of Gravity moves to East in Europe
Under these circumstances, the center of gravity of Europe moved eastward both
inside and outside the EU.
The EU Enlargement toward Central East Europe meant the historic and local
expansion of German influence13 to the Central and Eastern parts of Europe.
The introduction of the Euro, the expansion of the continental economic zone, andthe shift of Central East Europe to the EU (due to the EU’s geographic shift to theeast) resulted in a diminishing role of Britain. Nonetheless, for Central East Europe
it continued to remain an important player as a counter for Germany and Russia. The
geopolitical position and role of the UK and the USA were extremely attractive forCentral East Europe.
More recently, though, decisive change was caused by the expansion of China’s
influence. This has come about via a rapid-fire pace of change centered around two
initiatives. First, the AIIB (Asian Infrastructure and Investment Bank) brought the
opening.
12 MOFA (2020).
13 Haba (1998).

26

K. Haba

The second is the Belt and Road Initiative policy that includes a European dimension and is marketed as a win—win economic policy. It now straddles half of theearth, through land, sea, and the Arctic “triple necklaces’ routes. It is the 100-year
Silk Road Economic Zone concept.14
China and Russia have signed treaties to embark upon collaborative activities
between the BRI and the Eurasian Economic Alliance, including Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).Collaboration of Russian military and Chinese economy
might become a menace to the EU where division and internal divergence was alreadyapparent.
Cooperation between China and Central East European countries was establishedin 2012 and is currently 16 + 1 (17 + 1 including Greece) since 2020.15
China’s influence has expanded in the eastern half of the EU in a wide range ofareas such as infrastructure, investment, economy, trade, politics, information, at thesame time as the main axis of the EU has shifted from the west to the east.16
It is the expansion of Chinese influence to the UK and the EU, which is taking
place in parallel to the confusion of Brexit; it is also the expansion of relations
between China and Central East Europe. As an effect, it also brings forth a divisionof the EU by China and Russia.
(2) Brexit and Russian Influence on Populism
The Brexit referendum brought a great shock to many EU countries. During
the European refugee crisis of 2015, populism and nationalism were widespreadthroughout Europe. The sense of crisis and fear spread across the bloc. This cameat a time when talk about leaving the EU featured in the political debates of several
other member states such as Italy, Greece, or Hungary.
On the other hand, when the Maidan Revolution happened in Ukraine in 2014,
Russian president Vladimir Putin decided to have a referendum and occupied the
Crimean Peninsula with the Russian Army after the national referendum was incorporated into Russia. Because of that occupation of the Crimean Peninsula by RussianAmry, Russia was expelled from the G8, and British government and other European government simultaneously summoned their ambassadors from Russia due tothe assassination.
Under these circumstances, Russia started to support and funded aggressively theEuropean Populists, such as Nigel Farage of UKIP, Le Pen of FN, Alexis Tsipras,
Greek Prime Minister. The European Commission criticized Russia in an article that
Russia is dividing the European Union by funding populists.17

14 Haba (2016c). Yukawa (2018).
15 Shizuoka Shimbun (2019). Saga Shimbun (2020).
16 Kaczmarski and Jakóbowski (2015).
17 Haba (2017b). Haba (2017a).

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27

4 Brexit and the Decline of the UK and the US Prestige:
The rise of “Illiberal Democracy”
In the UK, the draft Withdrawal Agreement negotiated with the EU by UK
Prime Minster Theresa May was rejected by the parliament on three occasions—contributing to her eventual resignation in June 2019. Boris Johnson, who came into
power after that, said that he was not afraid to would leave without an agreement.
He eventually reached a compromise deal with the EU that included the matter the
Irish border and tariff issues for Northern Ireland (a deal not so dissimilar to what
the EU had offered PM May but which she had rejected). In the general election in
December 2019, the Conservative Party gained an overwhelming victory that gave
Johnson a large majority to get his deal passed by the parliament. On 31 January
2020, the UK officially left the political institutions of the EU.
On the other hand, even in Southern Europe and Central Eastern Europe where
populist political parties are strong, the disillusion to the UK began to spread with
the EU leadership.
The difficulty of the UK’s departure from the EU greatly impaired the UK’s position at home and abroad. As a result of that, ironically, the Brexit process had helped
calm the populist political assault on the EU. At the May 2019 European elections,for example, only about 20% of the populist parties across the block managed to getseats. Many Central and Eastern European countries were also disillusioned having
witnessed first-hand Britain’s difficult experiences.
Brexit was the result of direct democracy, a referendum, but similar to the presidential election of President Trump in the USA, it showed a loss of trust in theinternational order that had been dominated by the USA and the UK for the past
100–200 years, which was in fact constructed by the UK and the USA.
It indicated and produced a difficult and basic question, “What is democracy?” inthe face of the rise of populism. This caused an explosion of books such as “Self-Deathof Western Europe,” “The way to die of democracy”.18 Such books were publishedand widely read one after another, and through these books, values of modernization, democracy, liberalism, marketization themselves are also reconsidered anddiscussed.
Expansion of Coronavirus in the USA and Europe
Ironically, the coronavirus had drastically spread from February in 2020 all over theworld especially in Europe and the USA. These countries were locked down, but it
continued to spread until almost 5 million people were infected and 320 thousand
died. It spread to emerging countries as well including the BRICS (Brazil, Russia,
India). It damaged the infrastructure of developed countries: affecting economy,
politics, military, and medical and social security system. These are the pillars uponwhich trust and the social structure of citizens rest, but these modernized systems

18 Murray (2018). Steven Levitsky (2018).

28

K. Habaare being severely challenged by Covid-19. I would like to investigate how the USA
and Europe were influenced by coronavirus (see below).
Many European countries are reconsidering “solitude and solidarity” and help andsupport each other, but Trump in the USA criticized the “China virus” and Tedros,WHO’s secretary general, and the UK criticized the EU.
(1) “Illiberal Democracy”: A solution different from Brexit
Against this backdrop, among Central East European countries, it has been left tothe government of Hungary (as well as Poland) to challenge the EU’s norms andvalues. At the forefront of this challenge is Hungarian Prime minister and leader ofFidesz—(Fidesz Magyar Polgári Szövettség—in English—Fidesz-Hungarian Civic
Alliance) Victor Orbán who has advanced an alternative vision—what he calls an“illiberal democracy”.
It rallied against immigrants and promoted refugee exclusion, recovery ofsovereignty, etc., leading EU officials to severely criticize the Hungarian Government’s actions and commence sanctions procedures.
Poland also decided to publish a new law on the Supreme Court, which violates
the independence of the judiciary, and the EU decided to take them to the EU Courtof Justice.
However, according to reports from a Berlin reporter, there are also problems
with the EU’s response, because sanctions for the suspension of voting rights require
unanimous decisions by the member states except the target countries, but the Czech
Republic and Bulgaria are opposed. Therefore, sanctions have remained unenforced
against Central East European countries even though they are in conflict with the EU’s
agreed position on immigrants and refugee acceptance.19 Against this backdrop, theinfluence of China and Russia has penetrated into Central and Eastern Europe, further
deepening the division within the EU.20
Fidesz have won three straight victories in the general election in 2010, 2014,
and 2018. Its success originated from a skepticism concerning the EU’s neoliberalcompetition policy in the twenty-first century, and a keen criticism of the corruptionof the Socialist Party who carried the EU’s policy domestically.
In Hungary, the Socialist Party, the former Communist Party, led much of theprocess of reform at the end of the Cold War post-1989. However, when they leadthe reform from 2002, the Minister of Finance at that time, Lajos Bokros offered the
Bokros Package (Bokros Csomag), which was a neoliberal competition policy, and19 According to the AFP on September 13, 2018, the European Parliament adopted a resolution forpolitical sanctions against the Hungarian Orbán administration. Orbán argued against the reportleading to this resolution as an insult to the Hungarian people. Sanctions are based on Article 7of the EU Basic Convention, used for the first time in the European Parliament. Sanctions under
Article 7 of the EU Basic Convention were also resolved by Poland in 2017 by the European
Commission. AFP 2018.9.13. https://www.afpbb.com/articles/-/3189426. However, in reality, EU
sanctions against Poland and Hungary are not being implemented due to the opposition of Eastern
European countries, and it is said that only fragmentation will be prolonged.
20 Miyashita (2019).

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29

carried out the fiscal reform, to reduce social security and public policy spending.
From that time, people’s discontent increased. As a result, the Socialist Party could
not recover from overseeing the expanded economic disparity after the end of theCold War, and could not even realize a sustained economic recovery. In addition,
plagued by corruption allegations they lost the trust of the people. After the former
eight Central East European countries joined the EU in 2004, the dissatisfaction raised
against the Socialist Party’s government, and the corruption of the government in theprocess of dismantling state-owned enterprises increased public dissatisfaction. As
a result, the conservative government of the Fidesz—Hungarian Civic Alliance wasreadministered, subsequently, long-term singly administrated government by prime
minister Victor Orbán has continued for a period of over 10 years and has maintained
two-thirds majority of the parliament.
However, the 20 years after the end of the Cold War in 1989 was the time whenmajor painful economic reforms were carried out to abolish the socialist system andto join the EU. This necessitated the introduction of liberal economic policies and thewiping out of the old ‘command’ system. It could be said that this was an unavoidable
issue for any Central East European government trying to join the EU.
That is why in both Poland and the Czech Republic, conservative parties wereforced to balance their economic policies with their cultural defensive polices
when they introduced the EU’s rapid prescription for the introduction of a Western
European system.
(2) Orbán’s Majority Strategy—“Illiberal Democracy” and Creating WorkfareCommunity
The notorious Fidesz leader, Victor Orbán was a lawyer and was the youngest Prime
minister at the age of 35 in 1998. Leading Fidesz, (which in English means Youth
Democrat Union) started from the liberal democrat party originally, his speech was
rational and logical against the Socialist Party, which was organized by the Horn andGyurcsany administration from 1994 to 1998, 2000 to 2010, which was stable but
mismanaged discontentment of the people. Much of Orbán’s support base comes fromthe countryside and villages. They were attracted to his insistence of independence
from the EU, restoration of sovereignty, nationalist policies and links with 1.5 million
Hungarian minorities outside the border.
In 2010, Fidesz won the election with two-thirds of the votes against the socialist
government’s unregulated failure. He has continued to overwhelm the opposition
with an atmosphere of anti-immigration, exclusion of immigrants, and support for
Hungarian minorities outside the border in Romania, Slovakia, Austria, and Serbian
Vojvodina. Above all, he defends the conservative national interests of the region
against liberal trends that tends to be associated with capital cities. This has enabled
him to maintain an overwhelming parliamentary majority and concentrate his power.
The wider goal is to form a conservative political community group in the region
and create a “workfare” system that supports the administration as the aggregate ofworkfare. It draws upon the UK’s departure the EU, the local dissatisfied people
who underpin the Trump administration, the elderly who fear welfare loss, and the

30

K. Habanationalists who are dissatisfied with the EU’s liberal competition policy. Orbán spontaneously formed a conservative “workfare” community around the liberal capital,
consolidating those dissatisfied groups to protect Hungarian interests. It has proved
to be a successful method of populism.
Against the background of such a region of aggregate welfare system, against
the liberalism of the EU, he insisted on the merits of an “illiberal Democracy”,
based on the “popular support” dictatorship. He has succeeded in promoting a shiftof the concentration of power to the government and has maintained and further
strengthened a stable long-term dictatorship despite criticism both inside and outsideof the European Union.21(3) “Illiberal Democracy” will Lead the World to Success”“Illiberal Democracy” was a policy vision asserted by Orbán after the landslide
victory in the general election, in a speech in a local city in 2014.
He said: “Successful nations are not necessarily liberal. There is also non-liberal
democracy (in the world). Now the Stars of international politics and economics are
Singapore, China, India, Turkey, and Russia.
It is time we are set free from the western dogma. We are thinking about how toorganize the best societies that can compete and win in magnificent world races. We
will not reject liberalism, but we will not make it the central idea of the state". “There
are nation states, liberal states, and welfare states (in the world). What comes next?
Workfare states.”22
Therefore, so-called “Illiberal democracy”, democracy without liberalism, means
to promote a concentration of power based on an organized and widespread “popular support” dissatisfied with modern global capitalism. Following the model ofsuccessful nations in the world, it is important to create social communities in eachregion, for example by forming Hungarian civic groups, workfare communities ineach region, and thereby support the government)”.23
As Orbán said, they need to move away from the dogma of neo-liberal globalization in Western Europe, which widens the gap and widens corruption, and looks down
on Central East Europe and Southern Europe—an approach that had been followedby the rather liberal leadership of the Socialist Party. For Orbán learning from China,
Russia and India necessitates a powerful state based on a “workfare” community,“democracy without liberalism” and the support of local people.
This is a way of thinking by theoretically taking populism one step further, that
explored and examined the way of successful centralized countries in economics
such as China, India and Singapore, after the decline of Western European powers.
It is a persuasive but dangerous thinking for pragmatism.
21 Kallius et al. (2016), Buzogány (2017), Haba (2011).
22 Full text of Viktor Orbán’s speech at Băile Tuşnad (Tusnádfürdő) of 26 July 2014, July 29, 2014
-by Csaba Tóth, Budapest Beacon, October 13, 2013- April 13.2018. https://budapestbeacon.com/
full-text-of-viktor-orbans-speech-at-baile-tusnad-tusnadfurdo-of-26-july-2014/
23 op. cit. And see Zakaria (1997).

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31

It cannot be overlooked that in the background there was the regional disparity that
the EU and Western Europe had taken over the 30 years as neo-liberal competitive
policy after the Cold War, and the political and economic inhospitality to Central
East Europe. Also, the historically respected UK has left the EU, but it does notappear to be successful either.
The situation must not be overlooked that there was a political and economic snub
to Central East Europe from Western Europe. In order to maintain competitivenessagainst Asia (cheap products, cheap wages), Western Europe considered Central
East Europe as a hinterland allowing EU of different speeds and dimensions, which
is symbolized by the so-called “two-speed, two-dimensional Europe".
Central East European skepticism originated from the EU regional integration aspart of Western European neo-liberal competition policy. But unlike the UK Brexit,
they attempt to act to stay in the EU and avoid the collapse of the nation state, while
implementing a strategy of self(country)-defense.
Orbán—Fidesz Civil Alliance has supporters in the outside, Jobbik (better people= extreme right. In Hungarian language, “right” and “good” are synonyms), seatedin the Parliament since 2010. Both raise immigrant exclusion, anti-Semitism, and
Hungarian nationalism. By the double outer-moat with autonomous organizationof local conservatives (workfare) and with the extreme right-wing, they exclude
other political parties and have maintained strong power successfully from 2010 to2020, although they are not “liberal,” but “majority democracy” supported by local
self-workfare organizations.
(4) The Balanced Policy in Poland between Law and Justice (PiS) Government andTusk
In Poland, Jaroslav Kaczynski and PiS (Law and Justice) took power in 2005–2007
and 2015–2020.
PiS is a traditional Catholic right-wing party, founded in 2001 from political forcesthat had ties to the original Solidarity movement. Then PiS became the first party in
2005, when the Kaczyński twins became the prime minister, (Jarosław Aleksander
Kaczyński, elder brother), and president (Lev Kaczyński, younger brother). However,President Lev Kaczyński and cabinet ministers died in a crash of the presidential
airplane near the forest of Smolensk suburb, close to the Russian border, on theway to lead official mourning ceremony in the Katyn forest.24 The “Katyn Forest
Incident” concerned the murder of thousands of Polish cavalry officers by the Soviet
KGV in 1940. It has left an unbelievably high level of distrust and a wound that could
not heal between the Polish people and Russia.25
24 On April 10, 2010, the military aircraft (T-154) crashed as an accident in Katyn Forest, carrying

the members of Parliament, including the Polish President and his wife, the Chief of Staff of theArmed Forces, attempting to commemorate the genocide in the Katyn Forest. https://www.afpbb.
com/articles/-/2717331.
25 Katyn Forest genocide: 22,000 officers, police officers, and clergy were shot dead in the Katyn
Forest on the outskirts of Smolensk, in the event of the disappearance of 250,000 officers, prisoners,
and civilians taken by the Soviet army in 1940. It was only decades later in 1990 that the Soviet

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K. Haba

Unlike Hungary, Poland has a strong sense of mission as a “western fort that
protects Catholicism” because it is a West Slavic nation that has historically accepted
Catholicism and has a historically anti-Russian/anti-Soviet ethnic identity. There wasa strong solidarity in Poland with England. Therefore, in modern history, relations
with England were a strong memory for a long time. However, since joining the EU,
there is a strong sentiment among the people that EU policies are damaging theirown national interests.
PiS has policies which are common to other Central East European countries, suchas immigrant expulsion, anti-Semitism, Polish Catholicism, as well as continuing free
medical fees which was the strategy of the socialist era.
When it comes to certain cultural values, however, PiS takes a different line fromother liberal countries; it had approved a ban on abortion, and prohibition of samesex marriage. However, the bill that banned abortion in the House of Representatives
in 2016 was rejected due to the spread of demonstrations by hundreds of thousandsof people.26
Sanctions were approved against the PiS regime by the European Commission
in 2017 under Article 7 of the EU Basic Treaty but those sanctions could not be
enforced due to an inability to secure unanimity from the other member states. So,
Kaczynski argued that “the EU was just hysterical and could not do anything useful”.
On the other hand, another prominent politician in Poland holding many opposing
views to Kaczynski, Donald Tusk, represented a strong liberal/progressive strand in
Polish politics. He was the leader of the opposition party, Civic Platform (PO),
which is a moderate liberal party. Tusk was prime minister from 2007 to 2014 before
assuming the role of the President of European Council for a 5-year mandate. Hisbalanced approach to the Brexit negotiations was highly evaluated.
In that respect, Poland is different from Hungary’s one-party rule of the Fidesz
Civil Alliance under Orbán. In Poland, we can witness the presence of parties
promoting both a strong pro-EU and anti-EU stance.
Poland is a member of the Weimar Triangle (Germany, France, Poland, the three
countries’ leaders and foreign ministers summit), which was founded in Weimar,
Germany in 1991, and the largest population and territory in Central East Europe
and is second only to Spain in the EU, furthermore, and has a strong army which
participates in a voluntary coalition army with the USA. Therefore, Poland has aleadership role in the EU and Visegrád four countries.

Union acknowledged that the massacre had been carried out by the NKVD. The tragedy of Polishhistory, which has also become a novel and movie titled “The Katyn Forest Incident”.
26 https://www.huffingtonpost.jp/2016/10/05/poland_n_12367796.html.

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33

5 Visegrád Countries Expansion of Power: The
Transformation of European Power Relations
After Britain’s withdrawal from the EU, European power relations are changing.
In Japan, the German-Franco Union by Merkel and Macron has been attracting
attention, however, there are many researchers who suggest the expansion of influenceof future Visegrád countries.
The Visegrád countries first came together in Visegrád, Hungary in 1991. At
the time, it was composed of three Central East European: Poland, Hungary andCzechoslovakia. With the split of the latter into the Czech Republic and Slovakia in
1993, the Visegrád grouping became four. The V4 as it now well known seeks tobuild regional cooperation relationships between the four and promote its regional
voice within the EU.
The Visegrád countries cooperation originated with a historical symbolic meetingof three kings in Visegrád in 1335. The three kings were the king of Hungary, theking of Poland, and the king of Bohemia. They talked together to compete with the
Habsburg Empire and build an alliance in the capital Visegrád at the time of the
Hungarian Kingdom.27
The Visegrád countries meeting continues to be held since then, with the economic
stability of the four countries, stable political and economic relations with each otherand with Germany, opposition to EU bureaucracy, and in recent years expanding
relations especially with China as their main priorities.
Because of the UK withdrawal from the EU, several researchers point out that
the EU center of gravity might be moving from Western Europe to Central East
Europe.28
In the future, due to the UK’s withdrawal from the EU, Germany and moderateconservative parties in Central East Europe, and Orbán’s “illiberal Democracy” might
have influence in the future, especially if they are able to build relationships withpowerful nations beyond the EU.
And it was China that noticed that.

6 China and Central East Europe—Post Brexit
On April 13, 2019, Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang held a summit meeting with
16 Central and Central East European countries in the Croatian Mediterranean resortof Dubrovnik.29
27 Kumiko Haba “Central Europe four countries (the Visegrád countries) Alliance”, Nationalism

Question of Integrating Europe, Kodansha Gendaishinsho, 1999/2004, pp. 161–162, Chap. 7.
28 Göllner (2017).
29 Nihon Keizai Shimbun (2019).

34

K. Haba

China’s policy toward Central East Europe has a great significance as an importantbase for the “One Belt One Road” Strategy, which is an infrastructure development
plan based on the old Silk Road that goes halfway around the globe from Xi’an, China
to Europe as 16 countries + 1. The 16 countries are Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina,
Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania,
North Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, and Slovenia.
It has provided active economic and political support to small EU countries, suchas infrastructure development, road and railway, investment, trade expansion, andstrengthening of cooperation, using Chinese money and companies. From 2020,
support for medical and epidemic measures will be also added after the corona
pandemic.
On April 14, 2020, Li Keqiang of China, added Greece and it became 17 + 1. This
grouping therefore includes not only former communist countries but also Southern
Mediterranean countries and will expand to include Italy in the near future as well.
This means almost two-thirds of the EU 27 Southeast European countries collaborate
with China and start to develop an economic relationship.30
After the EU enlargement in 2004, and 2007, for 15 years, the EU has continued toaccept the disparities in the new member countries and continue to give priorities tothe vested interests of advanced EU countries, such as France, the UK, and Germany.
Central East Europe and southern European countries who are dissatisfied in theEU, and approach China for economic support show that pro-Chinese countries are
spreading to Central East Europe and Greece—both countries inside and outside of
the EU. This will strengthen after the Covid-19 pandemic crisis.
Russia is also injecting funds and aiding these countries with the aim of increasing
its influence and dividing the EU by supporting populist parties and former Socialist
countries.
The UK’s long and protracted withdrawal from the EU, the division between
Western Europe and Eastern Europe within the EU, the income gap and disparity
between North and South, West and East Europe, and the disparity emanating fromthe presence a “two-speed, two-dimensional Europe” are all strengthening disgruntlement toward accepting guidance from Brussels. Under such a situation, Chinese
influence will be strengthened across central eastern and southern Europe.
A Professor’s words at St. Petersburg State University were symbolic. “China willcontinue to expand her territory without a war.” “In St. Petersburg suburb, there weremany dacha(villas) areas inhabited by Russians once, but it is becoming a Chinesearea now.” “Recently I visited one restaurant where I used to go, but it was already a“Chinese people Only” restaurant, and it is impossible for Russians to go in. Terrible
and awful penetration!”.31

30 Jiji.com (2019).
31 A Professor’s words at St. Petersburg State University in September 2019. In the beautiful St.

Petersburg city, there are plenty of Chinese tourists and Chinese language, we can hear in streets,
more than Russian nations. Many Russian citizens shared the anxieties of the previous Professor’s
words.

2 Post-Brexit and Post-Corona: The UK, the EU and Central East Europe …

35

China’s influence has panned out across the world, due to its domestic and overseas
Chinese economic power, and the number of pro-Chinese cities are increasing within
the EU especially in the internet cities network areas. According to NHK’s special
TV series, even in small cities in Germany where the Mayor thinks that they havefallen behind in high technology, they have begun to launch joint endeavors with
Huawei-China. These internet cities network areas are widening to forms of internet
lines, across the EU and all over the world.32
How and which countries could the EU collaborate with after the UK’s withdrawal
from the EU? Some local governments of the EU, or Central East and Southern
East European countries are first cautiously but gradually more aggressively seeking
solutions with Chinese economy, trade, investment, and high technology.

7 Conclusion: Post-Brexit and Post-Corona—Where is
the World Heading?
Finally, this chapter wants to turn its attention to the transformation of the EU postBrexit and post-Covid-19.
In December 2020, the coronavirus having emerged in Wuhan developed andrapidly spread to Europe, the USA, and the rest of the world within a few months.
By May 2020, 5 million people, in just five months, have been infected and morethan 330 thousand people have died (as of May 20). The USA has 1.57 million people
infected and 90,000 people dead. The following top places are occupied by Russia,
Spain, Brazil, UK, Italy, France, Germany, and Turkey. In the top five European
countries, 1.1 million people have been infected and 130,000 people dead. (As of
May 20). The world changed drastically only in several months.
On the other hand, the low number of infections in Central East Europe, especiallythe low number of dead, deserves special mention. The death rate in the four advanced
European countries is around 13%, which is much higher than the general coronavirus
mortality rate (2–3%), whereas most of East European former socialist countries
have around 4–6%, except Hungary. The mortality rate is less than half that of thedeveloped countries in the EU, which is difficult to explain. The biggest problem isthe medical collapse caused by the exponential increase in the number of infected
people. Unfortunately, the most basic “joint support” system of the EU was notestablished in the early stages of the emergency, and each state tried to monopolizemasks and medical devices, even Germany, in emergency. Such a lack of a joint
support system caused the epidemic medical outbreak in Italy and Spain.
It is the same in the USA. The American epidemic and mass deaths are a total
failure of the Trump regime, not China.
First, the USA, and then the UK, became the pinnacle of infection in the world
in a noticeably short period of time from mid-March to mid-May. Of the 4.8 million
32 NHK Special (2020).

36

K. Haba

infected persons and 316,000 dead in the world, 55% of the total infected persons arein the USA and Europe’s five major powers; 70% of the total dead are occupied by the
USA and four countries in Europe (As of May 18). The USA and the UK account for
37% of the world’s infected people and nearly 40% of the dead. Despite the economic
and military might, or science and technology power of the two nations they findthemselves at the apex of the corona crisis in terms of both infections and death
rates. This is a completely abnormal situation that would have been unimaginable tocontemplate just a short while ago.
Trump’s “America First!” and Boris Johnson’s “Britain First!” failed to defeat
corona virus.
In South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan, there is a vast Chinese population,
but they succeeded in stopping the spread of the infection and curtailing fatalities. It
is a situation that needs specific attention and analysis.
The corona crisis has done a great deal of damage to the hegemony and prestigeof the USA and Britain. Trump blames his own blunders to the virus on China andto the WHO, which he accuses of having taken China’s side. In response he wishes
to sanction and raise tariffs on trade with China and is also considering prohibiting
certain parts sales to Huawei. But all these actions further undermine American
leadership and trust.
The UK also, where Prime Minister Boris Johnson was infected, has found itself
in the grip of the deadly virus. It now ranks as the worst case in Europe in terms ofinfections and deaths. And until June was the most in the world after the USA.
Traditionally, the UK was respected as having one of the highest medical standards
and effective welfare states in the world. But now that reputation has been damaged.
Furthermore, in developed EU countries, the evidence is pointing to the fact thatfatality rates are disproportionately concentrated in “BAME” (Black, Asian, Minority
Ethnicity) minorities. In the USA, it was said, that 70% of the dead are concentrated
in Blacks and Hispanics. These facts also magnified the damage done to the prestigeof the primary carriers of the western liberal model: the USA and the UK.
(1) How to Transform the World After Brexit and After Corona?
Seeing the turmoil of Brexit, many small EU countries have learned the disadvantagesof leaving the EU’s marketplace of 450 million consumers and instead have turned
to “opposing the EU from within the EU".
As part of that strategy they have sought to develop their own values/vision thatis different from that of the EU’s standard liberal democracy.
At the forefront of this endeavor are the four Visegrád countries and from outside
the EU China and Russia which see certain opportunities from strengthening relationships with such countries. Seeing the turmoil of Brexit, the EU small countries
who go against the EU, tried to make a realistic choice: stay in the EU rather than
withdrawal but simultaneously take a different path from the one promoted by theEuropean Commission. That was Orbán’s “Illiberal Democracy”, Kaczyński and PiS
Catholic Nationalism, and the basis for Visegrád collaboration.

2 Post-Brexit and Post-Corona: The UK, the EU and Central East Europe …

37

The EU traditionally was driven by the narrative of Franco-German reconciliationand subsequent dominance, but this no longer fully reflects the various values of the
EU’s small countries, especially those from Eastern and Southern Europe.
The international and domestic environment of the EU has changed significantly
due to the competition of liberal capitalism, the adverse effects of disparities, and theconfusion of Brexit. The USA–UK free competition, widening disparities, elimination of immigrants, majority democracy and Britain first, American first nationalism,
above all, undermined the trust and leadership of the USA and the UK.
Thus, European liberal democracy needs to be reconsidered from the small countries’ perspective. The EU’s value and facts are no longer a useful and effective“joint collaboration” policy including eastern and southern Europe. And throughsuch gaps and disparity, China and Russia are effectively making in-roads with offersof economic and financial assistance to support public policy and medical and social
equipment to help with the pandemic.
The danger that the universal values of liberalism are undermined by the UK’s
withdrawal from the EU and by the blame placed on China and the WHO by the Trumpadministration is greater than expected. Both actions are extremely nationalistic andreflect an attitude that has no remorse at collapsing multilateral endeavors.
The corona pandemic crisis exposed these egoistic behaviors of the top two AngloSaxon states in terms of medical care and infectious disease control.
Further analysis and examination will be needed on the 16 + 1, or 17 + 1 cooperation policy among China and eastern and southern Europe: economic, trade, investment, and infrastructure development, furthermore medical care, and social security
policy. Those will be expanding in 2020 and after, in the post-Brexit and post-corona
era.
What kind of answer can the EU give, to the issues arising in this era of destabilization not least when it comes to the challenge of “how can small countries, andweak countries and poor countries best survive?” in the post-Brexit, post-corona era?
The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) policy, with theslogan, “nobody will be left behind” is one of the most important policies, even it
is difficult to bring to fruition. Could “illiberal Democracy” promoting a “workfare”
type community spread? Is it possible for small countries to emulate successfulmodels implemented elsewhere?
The deadlock of Brexit in the UK, which was a model of representative democracy
until the two world wars in the twentieth century, brought at the European Parliament,
it caused the last unbearable terrible speech by Farage, Party leader of Brexit Party,
based on the unwillingness of the European Union in January 2020.33
Trump and Pompeo in the USA also blamed nationalistically China and WHO;
this is another event which led to the demise and of the international organization
constructed after two world wars by Wilson and Roosevelt, presidents of the USA.
But in the early twenty-first century, Trump’s negligence of corona despite causing
tragedy in the USA and causing a large number of black and Hispanic minority
casualties, has not even tried to save their own people, and blames China and istrying to apply tariffs.
33 We will be never coming back to the EU (2020). Nigel Farage’s final speech.

38

K. Haba

Under these situations, “illiberal Democracy” might have ample room to spread.
Orbán’s stance of looking beyond what he sees as “Western dogma,” instead“searching for another way for nations to become globally competitive andsuccessful” is extremely pragmatic and rational.
Although the “illiberal democracy” certainly has a plethora of problems producing
disparity, competition and unemployment, but the dictatorship does not solve theproblems of disparity and inequality.
It is a heavy and important agenda for small countries in Asia and Africa, which
has always been put as latecomers to the development of the world’s global economy,
therefore, they might get their own sovereignty and people’s voice by using their own
democracy, in another style of Western countries.
In fact, Asian and African countries have, for that reason, passed the era when
they were colonized for centuries and then fixed their economic colonization. They
were trying to achieve independent development. But how?
Until 2016, the USA and the UK was the model of modernization, liberal
democracy, and parliamentarism. But ironically, Britain’s withdrawal from the EU
and the Trump government and the consequences that followed, made people feel
disillusioned by losing their trust in both countries, the UK and the USA.
How though might the small countries in Central East and South Europe, members
and non-members of the EU solve the problems that they face? One model is the “illiberal democracy” in transition, the other is sub-regional cooperation as the Visegrád
countries, and cooperation with China, Russia, India, and/or Turkey. But it is not thelast solution.
It is necessary for us to pay attention to and analyze how the EU, Britain, and the
USA could overcome conflicts, disparities, the Coronavirus plague, and how they
could reconstruct the economic, political, and social structures, confronting populism
and nationalism. We need to analyze Asian situation comparatively, where economic
development is steadily progressing and so far, we could manage coronavirus plague
better than Europe and the USA.
It is necessary to investigate objectively the future growth of the Regional Framework not only in Europe but also in Asia, ASEAN-type governance or RCEP and
TPP regional development. Europe also could learn from Asia.

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Kumiko Haba is a Jean Monnet Chair, a Professor at Aoyama Gakuin University, former President of the EUSA Asia Pacific 2017, past Vice President of International Studies Association(ISA:2016–17), Vice President of ISA Asia Pacific (2017–21). She is a Director of the Institute for Global International Relations, Member and Associate Member of the Science Councilof Japan. She has been a Visiting Scholar at Harvard University (2011–12), European University
Institute (2007), Sorbonne University (2004), University of London (1996–97), and the Hungarian
Academy of Science (1995–96, 2002). Her Specialty is International Relations, Comparative
Studies between the EU and Asian Region, immigrant issues, and building peace and prosperity inconflict regions. She has written 69 books (including as editor, and co-writer), 15 English books(including Proceedings), and 197 articles. Her major books are: K. Haba, European Division
and Integration, European Nationalism and Borders, Inclusion or Exclusion, Chuokoron Shinsha,
Tokyo, 2016, K. Haba (Ed.), International Society of the Great Transformation era, Law andCulture Publishers, Tokyo, 2019. S. Rosefielde, Kuboniwa and K. Haba (Eds.), The Unwindingof the Globalist DreamーEU, Russia and China, World Science, London, New Jersey and Singapore, 2017. K. Haba, Asian Regional Cooperation in the Global Era, Iwanami Publishers, 2012.
(Chinese translation, Beijing, 2013), K. Haba (Ed.), Considering Asian Regional Integration, To
Avoid Wars, Akashi Publishers, 2017.

Chapter 3

Asian Regional Cooperation: RCEP
and CPTPP Strategy After Brexit
Sang-Chul Park

Abstract Global trade has played one of the most important roles in contributing torapid economic growth in the world in the last five decades. However, trade growth
has slowed down in the global economy since the global financial crisis. In 2016,
growth in the volume of world trade was expected to remain at 2.8%, unchanged fromthe 2.8% increase registered in 2015. Imports of advanced nations were moderate
in 2017, while demand for imported goods in developing Asian economies would
rise. Despite the rising import in Asia, the ratio of trade growth in the world has
been lower than the ratio of global economic growth since 2013. Therefore, many
countries have tried to create bilateral, multilateral, regional, and mega FTAs inorder to boost their trade volumes and economic growths. The EU’s single market
provides several implications to East Asian countries trying to build their own FTA
and participate in different mega FTAs such as the RCEP and the CPTPP. As a result,
their economic interests are rather divided deeply and related to political and security
issues in the East Asian context. Particularly, the new protectionism led by the USA
and the UK has emerged and negated the TPP Agreement that turned into CPTPP
without the US participation. This paper deals with Mega FTAs such as the RCEP
and the CPTPP as well as East Asian economic cooperation. It also argues what East
Asian countries’ economic interests are by participating in the RCEP and the CPTPP
as well as how to overcome the newly emerging protectionism caused by the new
US trade policy and Brexit. Finally, it also analyzes the roles and strategies of China,
Japan, and Korea to protect their regional and global economic interests overcoming
protectionist movement in the global trade environment individually and collectively.
Keywords Mega FTA · Protectionism · Economic growth · FTA strategy · Brexit

S.-C. Park (B)Korea Polytechnic University, Siheung, South Korea
e-mail: scpark866@gmail.com; scpark@kpu.ac.kr© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
K. Haba and M. Holland (eds.), Brexit and After,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-7969-1_3

41

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S.-C. Park

1 Introduction
Most economists agree that global trade has contributed to a rapid economic growth in
the world since World War II. However, the growth of the trade volume started to slow
down in the global economy particularly after the global financial crisis in 2008. As aresult, the growth in the world trade volume in goods and services reached only 1.9%
although its forecast was 2.8% based on the statistics in World Trade Organization(WTO) in 2016. The WTO forecasted that the world trade volume could grow 2.4%
in 2017, while International Monetary Fund (IMF) projected a trade volume growthof 3.8% in the same year. Regarding the IMF statistics, the global GDP growth was
projected to rise by 3.4% in 2017 and it rose 3.1% in 2016. It caused deep uncertainty
about near term economic and policy developments that increased the forecast riskin 2017. The reason for it was slowdown in emerging markets. Among the emerging
markets, however, East Asian countries were expected to return to modest growth in2017 (WTO 2017; IMF 2017).
The world trade volume in merchandise has tended to grow an average 1.5 times
higher than the world GDP growth from 1981 to 2016. During the 1990s, it grew
more than twice as high. However, the ratio of trade growth to GDP growth has
become more or less equal since the global financial crisis except the years 2010 and2011. After the global financial crisis, the G20 was formed to overcome the global
financial crisis and has fought against trade protectionism. However, in 2016, thetrade growth rate was marked lower than the world GDP growth rate, the fourth timesince 1981. Therefore, many countries have tried to create bilateral, multilateral,
regional, and mega FTAs since the 2000s in order to boost their trade volumes andeconomic growths. This new approach worked properly until the global financial
crisis but started to show its limitation after the crisis (WTO 2017).
In 2016, there were 228 free trade agreements (FTAs), and among them 147
FTAs were signed and in effect in the Asia and Pacific region. 68 FTAs are still on
negotiation, 5 FTAs are signed but not yet in effect, and 3 FTAs are discontinued.
All FTAs are either bilateral or multilateral. Singapore is the leading country with
33 FTAs, and India follows with 28 FTAs. Three major East Asian countries, South
Korea with 25 FTAs, Japan with 24 FTAs and China with 23 FTAs play also significant
roles in terms of FTA due to their national economic sizes in the region (https://aric.
adb.org/fta-all, accessed on 15 April 2019).
In addition to bilateral and multilateral FTAs, the Asia Pacific region has become
the common ground for mega FTAs that are on the process to build the Regional
Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) led by ASEAN officially, but practically by China and Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership(CPTPP) led by Japan. China has negotiated RCEP with 10 ASEAN member nations
and six nations with which ASEAN has existing trade agreements. The ambition of
the RCEP is to promote regional economic integration in East Asia. Among 16 nationsin the RCEP, seven nations participate in the CPTPP as well. The CPTPP aims torebalance the Japanese political and economic interests against Chinese emerging in
the region as a part of global strategies.

3 Asian Regional Cooperation: RCEP and CPTPP Strategy …

43

The RCEP was expected to be completed by the end of 2016 but is still in process.
It targets to be completed in 2019, and China pushes hard to complete it because it
has already announced to protect the free trade mechanism based on globalizationin the World Economic Forum in 2017, while the TPP faced turbulence after the
Trump government announced its pull-out from the TPP in January 2017, although
12 member nations had agreed with the TPP in Oct. 2016. As a result, the future ofmega FTAs in the Asia Pacific region has become unforeseeable particularly in the
TPP that turned to the CPTPP and entered into force on 30 December 2018 (Graceffo
2017; Asian Trade Center 2018).
This paper focuses on mega FTAs such as the RCEP and the CPTPP and how
these will develop in the near future. Additionally, it deals with possible impacts on
the US withdrawal from the TPP and the post-TPP visions as well as after Brexit.
Furthermore, it also analyzes the implications for East Asian economic cooperation.
In order to meet the research targets, various methods are used such as a methodof critical analysis of literature, an inference method, and a method of statisticalanalysis.

2 Mega FTAs in the Asia Pacific Region
2.1 Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)
After several years of discussions on the desirability and feasibility of Asian
economic cooperation, East Asian countries led by the 10 ASEAN member nations
decided to establish a regional economic framework comprehensively that is theRegional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). The nations participatingin the RCEP negotiations are the 10 ASEAN member nations and six other nationsin the region such as Korea, China, Japan, India, Australia, and New Zealand. They
began the negotiations in 2013.
East Asia has not established a region-wide FTA due to different opinions among
East Asian economies about creating the region-wide FTA. It was a long process toagree to RCEP. Regional economic cooperation in East Asia began to intensify inorder to deal with the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997 as the first ASEAN + 3 (Korea,
China, and Japan) Summit Meeting was held in 1998. In the summit, Korea proposed
to set up the East Asia Vision Group (EAVG) for overcoming economic and financial
problems and difficulties collectively in the region. The expert group developed
further the idea of East Asia Free Trade Area (EAFTA) in 2002 and proposed ASEAN+ 3 economic ministers that the EAFTA needs to negotiate among ASEAN countries
first and membership can be open to other East Asian economies. Unfortunately,
however, this proposal was not accepted due to the Japanese rejection in 2006. The
economic rationale of EAFTA was based on highly developed production networks
and supply chains among ASEAN + 3 nations and harmonizing rules of origins

44

S.-C. Park

among these countries that could create tangible economic benefits. (Urata 2013;
EAFTA 2009; ASEAN Secretariat 2009; Kawai and Wignaraja 2011).
Parallel to the ASEAN + 3 approach, Japan proposed the Comprehensive
Economic Partnership in East Asia (CEPEA) at the ASEAN + 6 economic ministers’
meeting in 2006, which is an agreement of the region-wide FTA covering ASEAN+ 6 member nations. These 16 nations are also the member nations of the East Asia
Summit that began in 2005. Japan’s economic rationale to set up the CEPEA wasthat the economic advantage of the CEPEA could be larger than that of the EAFTA
because the incorporation of resource-rich Australia and rapidly growing India could
generate economic growth for East Asia as a whole. The reason why Japan suggested
the CEPEA is that Japan tried to play a role in the leadership for setting up a regional
institution because China took the initiative in the EAFTA discussions. By competingwith each other between China and Japan to take leadership in the establishment of theregion-wide FTA under the EAFTA and the CEPEA, China speeded up the processof regional economic integration in East Asia when Japan decided on participatingin the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) in 2011. (Kawai and Wignaraja 2008; Xiao2015).
The Chinese motivation to establish the region-wide FTA was stronger than any
other nations in the region because it observed increasing US influences to forma regional economic framework in the Asia Pacific region under TPP. Under thesecircumstances, ASEAN proposed the RCEP involving ASEAN and its FTA partners
in 2011 because it did not want to lose ASEAN centrality in East Asian regional
integration. ASEAN understood that it could lose its leadership role in the processof economic integration in East Asia if big economic nations in the region and halfof ASEAN member nations participate in the negotiation of the TPP. Additionally, ASEAN tried to maintain its centrality in regional economic cooperation. Aftersigning ASEAN + 1 FTA, ASEAN and its regional partners were concerned about
the Asian noodle bowl effects that became new obstacles to establish a new regional
production network based on free markets in East Asia. Therefore, the RCEP has
emerged as a tool to integrate ASEAN + 1 FTA in order to support their common
aspirations of the region (Yi 2014).
Furthermore, ASEAN announced the guiding principles for the negotiations of the
RCEP that include WTO consistency, transparency, and open accession to ASEAN’s
FTA partners and others. Based on such principles, four ASEAN member nations—
Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore, and Vietnam—participated in the CPTPP as well. As
a result, ASEAN + 6 leaders agreed to launch the negotiation of the RCEP in 2012
and to start in 2013. RCEP was scheduled to conclude by the end of 2015 but did notmeet the target till 2018. It targets to reassure the world of free trade commitment.
(ASEAN Secretariat 2012; Urata 2013; Hearn and Myers 2015; Johnston 2017).
RCEP includes a population of more than 3.5 billion people, with an output of
about 23.8 trillion US dollars in 2016. Its GDP accounted for 31.4%, and the total
trade volume was 9.58 trillion US dollars in the same year, which is 45% of the world
trade volume. It is no doubt that the RCEP could create the world’s largest trading
bloc, if it is successfully concluded. It could provide major implication for the global
economy such as spread of global production networks, reducing inefficiencies of3 Asian Regional Cooperation: RCEP and CPTPP Strategy …

45

Fig. 1 RCEP’s share of world in population, GDP, and trade (%). Source WTO, World Trade
Statistics (2015, 2016), World Bank (2016), WTO (2018)

multiple Asian FTAs, etc. (Suh 2014; World Bank 2017; World Integrated Trade
Solution 2017; WTO 2018, See Fig. 1).
RCEP needs a strong leadership that is absolutely necessary to conclude the negotiations successfully. The leadership must be based on ASEAN centrality because itsrole is regarded as impartial. In addition, China and Japan might not trust each otherdue to their rivalry in the region. In fact, RCEP is a tool for rising China in the region.
ASEAN, Korea, and Japan are concerned that China will eventually dominate East
Asia through a China-led East Asia Economic Community. Therefore, some countries such as Japan, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Vietnam have actively tried tobalance between China and the US in order to hedge China’s possible threat. Therefore, the RCEP based on ASEAN centrality can play a role in checking the rise of
China and balancing the power in the region (Suh 2014).
Since the Trump Administration in the USA started in January 2017, the prospectsof the RCEP have changed dramatically because the US government officiallyannounced its withdrawal from the TPP. It will open the door for China to playa more pronounced leadership role in the region. In the Asia Pacific region, China
already is a major trade and investment partner for TPP member nations. Canada and
Mexico seek to open trade talks with China, while Chile, Australia, New Zealand,and Malaysia try to expand their existing trade and investment deals. Furthermore,
seven of 12 TPP member nations participate in the RCEP negotiations. Therefore,
China could gain new opportunities to expand trade and investment in other TPP
markets after the US withdrawal (Shott 2017).
By contrary, the post-Brexit will not affect the Chinese leadership in RCEP directly
and strategically because the two regional economic integrations such as the EU andthe RCEP do not compete with each other in the same area. However, the RCEP under
the Chinese leadership could expand further in the global trade and gain more possibility to set the trade rules, while the EU after Brexit could be weaker economicallythan the before Brexit in the world economy and politics (Gonzales 2018).

46

S.-C. Park

2.2 Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-PacificPartnership Agreement (CPTPP)The USA took over leadership after participating in the TPP negotiations in 2010 andaimed to create US-led trade rules in the Asia Pacific region. The US government
realized that global trade and investment are critical to US economic performanceand national security. In fact, more than 95% of the world’s population and 80%
of its purchasing power exist outside the USA. Moreover, the Asia Pacific region isregarded as the most rapid economic growth hub in the world that will create themost consumption growth in the next 20 years. Therefore, it is critical for the US
government to complete region-wide trade agreements such as the TPP with allies
and other nations in the region in order to strengthen its influential powers in regional
economies and politics (Schell and Shirk 2017).
From economic and political points of view, the TPP is a mechanism for isolating
China in East Asia. The TPP with the high standard of agreement is a high barrier for
China to overcome in the near future. Although the TPP does not intend to exclude
China in East Asia, it is not possible for China to accept the content of the TPP. It
is inevitable for China to change its policies to sustain economic growth and ensuresocial stability. However, Chinese leadership understands that a rapid market reform
is not a feasible pathway so that China cannot participate in the TPP negotiations atleast in the near future (Suh 2014).
The TPP’s position in the world economy and trade is very significant as well.
Its output of 12 member nations accounted for 28.85 trillion US dollars in 2016
although its population share is slightly higher than 11% in the same year. The TPP’s
GDP share in the world economy increased from 38% in 2014 to 38.2% in 2015 anddeclined slightly to 38% in 2016. Total world trade volume in 2014 accounted for23.4 trillion US dollars and declined to 20.9 trillion US dollars in 2015 that accounts
for 11.2% decline. However, the total trade share of the TPP in the world trade
increased from 32% in 2014 to 41.5% in 2015. It shows clearly TPP’s weight in theworld economy and trade. As a result, the TPP became the second largest mega FTA
in terms of its GDP and trade volume. (World Bank 2017; World Integrated Trade
Solution 2017, See Fig. 2).
The TPP was launched in 2010, and its negotiations were completed in October
2015 that was signed in February 2016. It had grown 12 member nations drawn
from the APEC member nations and they have to ratify in their legislatures. Amongthe member nations, only Japan ratified in the Diet on 9 December 2016 and try
to persuade other member nations despite the Trump administration’s withdrawal
from TPP. The US government formally withdrew the TPP in January 2017. Given
its current legal status, the TPP cannot enter into force without US ratification. The
US withdrawal of the TPP may hinder its further process ultimately because of
the article 30.5 in the TPP agreement. According to the article 30.5, at least six
members accounting for 85% of the GDP of the total GDP in TPP member nations
must ratify before the agreement enters into force. The share of US GDP accounted
for 64.8% of the TPP total GDP in 2015 that is absolutely overwhelmed compared3 Asian Regional Cooperation: RCEP and CPTPP Strategy …

47

Fig. 2 TPP’s share of world in population, GDP, and trade (%). Source WTO, World Trade Statistics(2015, 2016), World Bank (2016)

with any other member nations. Therefore, the US withdrawal means numerically
impossible for other member nations to meet the requirement (Nikkei Asian Review
2016; Wilson 2017; https://ustr.gov/sites/default/files/TPP-Final-Text-Final-Provisions.pdf, accessed on 24 April 2017, See Fig. 3).
Impacts on the US withdrawal from the TPP have resulted in dramatic changes intrade policies in many nations participating in the TPP. Particularly, Asian countries
started to reappraise their regional trade strategies. Many Asian governments regard
the TPP without US participation as impossible. As a result, their trade policies gave
shifted to ongoing the RCEP negotiations. During the Lima APEC Summit in Nov.

Fig. 3 GDP share of TPP member nations (As of 2015, %). Source World Bank (2016)

48

S.-C. Park

2016, trade policies and RCEP’s potential roles in the region were discussed between
member nations. In the summit, China as a driving force behind the RCEP pledged its
commitment to economic openness and pushed to complete the RCEP negotiations.
Even Japan addressed its priority of trade policy from the TPP to RCEP (Reuters
2016; Wilson 2017).
The USA will set up the three principles in its trade policy under the Trumpadministration. First, it will focus on bilateral FTA negotiations rather than multilateral FTA negotiations. Replacing the TPP by pursuing bilateral trade deals with the
TPP member nations is the signal to change its trade policy. Second, it will consider
renegotiating and reforming existing agreements such as NAFTA and the Korea–US
FTA. Last, but not least, USA will point out all unfair trade practices that put the
US national economy at disadvantages creating trade deficit job loss, hollowing out
manufacturing sectors, etc. (Wah 2017).
Due to the firm US standpoint focusing bilateral FTA instead of multilateral FTA
and the US withdrawal of the TPP, Japan, under Abe’s leadership, tried to move the
TPP forward without the US participation. Despite the strong resistance of Malaysia
and Vietnam, Japan along with other member nations such as Australia, and New
Zealand, etc., was able to create the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-PacificPartnership (CPTPP) also known as TPP11 in May 2017. The CPTPP incorporates
most of the TPP provisions by reference but suspended 22 provisions that the US
preferred, but other member nations opposed (https://www.mfat.govt.nz/, 2019).
11 member nations reached the agreement in January 2018 to conclude the CPTPP,
and it was formally signed on 8 March 2018 in Santiago, Chile. The agreement
specifies that its provisions enter into force 60 days after ratification by at least 50%of the signatories or 6 of its 11 member nations. The sixth nation to ratify the TPP wasAustralia on 31 October 2018. As a result, the TPP came into force for the initial six
ratifying countries on 30 December 2018. The CPTPP represented 13.4% of global
GDP in 2018 and accounted for approximately USD 13.5 trillion, making the TPP
the third largest FTA in the world by GDP after USMC and the EU (Torrey 2018).

3 Analysis on RCEP and TPP (CPTPP)
Two mega FTAs such as RCEP and TPP have been competing with each other inorder to set the trade rules in the Asia Pacific region until the USA took the leadershipto complete the TPP negotiations in 2015. 12 member nations of the TPP finallyconcluded the mega FTA in Oct. 2015, and Japan already ratified it in the Diet in
December 2016 although the Japanese government knew that then President elected
Trump announced the withdrawal of the TPP when his government comes to powerin January 2017. It means that all member nations focus on their national interests
as their first priority to access to the mega FTAs. Therefore, the USA pulled out its
membership in the TPP, while Japan has tried hard to rescue the TPP without theUSA. As a result, the TPP turned to the CPTPP without the US participation in 2018.

3 Asian Regional Cooperation: RCEP and CPTPP Strategy …

49

In the global economy, the year 2015 is a turning point to mark the negative
growths in terms of the world GDP and trade compared with the previous year since
the global financial crisis in 2008. Therefore, its economic impact on the Asia andPacific region is also significant. Despite being under such a negative economic
environment, the RCEP was able to increase its global GDP share from 29% in 2014
to 30.6% in 2015, while the TPP could only expand its share from 38% to 38.2%
marginally in the same period. The reason for this is that the RCEP member nations
particularly in developing economies such as China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, thePhilippine, Thailand, Vietnam were vigorous and created high economic growths
in 2015, while the TPP member nations could not generate high economic growths
except Malaysia, Mexico, and Vietnam in the same year.
Additionally, RCEP increased its global share of trade from 35% in 2014 to 44.5%
in 2015, while TPP expanded its share from 32 to 41.5% in the same period. Bothwere able to increase their trade share by nearly 10% compared with the previous
year although the world trade declined 12.1% from 2014 to 2015. In RCEP, Chinese
trade volume declined from 4.3 trillion US dollars in 2014 to 3.7 trillion US dollars in
2015, a 14.1% decline. In the TPP, US trade volume decreased from 4.05 trillion US
dollars to 3.4 trillion US dollars in the same period, a 15.8% decline. Although twoleading nations’ trade volumes declined, other developing economies’ trade volume
in the Philippines and Vietnam increased. At the same time, trade volumes in otherregions declined more than the Asia Pacific region. As a result, their trade share
increased to 44.5% and 41.5% in 2015, respectively (See Table 1, 2).
In RCEP, three major economies—China, Japan, and Korea—show different
patterns of trade trends from 2013 to 2015. First, Chinese import volumes increased
from 1.79 trillion US dollars in 2013 to 1.81 trillion US dollars in 2014 and declined
heavily to 1.32 trillion US dollars in 2015. However, its export volume increased
continuously from 2.15 trillion US dollars in 2013 to 2.24 trillion US dollars in 2014
and 2.37 trillion US dollars in 2015. This trend is closely related to the new Chinese
industry policy focused on a domestic consumption driven growth strategy in the
12th Five Year Plan (2011–2015). By implementing the strategy, China created ahistorical high-trade surplus with 359 billion US dollars in 2013, 435 billion US
dollars in 2014, and 1.05 trillion US dollars in 2015.
Second, Japanese import volumes increased from 785 billion US dollars in 2013
to 799 billion US dollars in 2014, but declined to 626 billion US dollars in 2015.
Its export volumes increased slightly from 695 billion US dollars in 2013 to 699
billion US dollars in 2014, but declined heavily to 625 billion US dollars in 2015.
During this period, Japan made trade deficits continuously. Lastly, the Korean tradepattern looks different compared with the other two major economies. Korean import
volumes decreased continuously from 535 billion US dollars in 2013 to 524 billion
US dollars in 2014 and 437 billion US dollars in 2015. Its export volumes declined
also from 618 billion US dollars in 2013 to 613 billion US dollars and 527 billion
US dollars in 2015. However, Korea made a large amount of trade surplus during theperiod as the Chinese case (See Table 1).
In the TPP, two major economies such as USA and Japan have clearly the same
pattern of trade trend. US import volumes increased from 2.29 trillion US dollars in50

S.-C. Park

Table 1 Trend of trade in RCEP member nations (100 Million US Dollars)
Nations

2013

2014

2015

ImportExportImportExportImportExportChina

17,89621,48618,08722,43813,23823,722

Brunei

49

118

37

111

32

64

Cambodia

95

65

107

75

107

85

India

4,817

3,192

4,724

3,284

3,907

2,644

Indonesia

1,763

1,821

1,683

1,753

1,782

1,760

Japan

7,846

6,949

7,990

6,992

6,256

6,249

Korea

5,354

6,182

5,241

6,130

4,365

5,269

Laos

N.A

N.A

N.A

N.A

N.A

N.A

Malaysia

1,717

2,023

1,729

2,075

1,762

2,002

Myanmara

39

73

39

73

42

76

New Zealand

387

397

410

420

365

344

Philippine

622

445

672

498

702

586

Singapore

3,617

4,374

3,582

4,378

2,967

3,466

Thailand

2,274

2,275

2,094

2,267

2,020

2,109

Vietnam

1,233

1,320

1,301

1,502

1,658

1,620

Australia

2,497

2,542

2,403

2,407

2,001

1,878

Source World Integrated Trade Solution (2017), Note a Statistics in 2010
Table 2 Trend of trade in TPP member nations (100 Million US Dollars)
Nations

2013

2014

2015

ImportExportImportExportImportExportUSA

22,943

15,92023,855

16,33323,06815,039Australia

2,497

2,542

2,403

2,407

2,001

1,878

Brunei

49

118

37

111

32

64

Canada

4,727

4,664

4,739

4,783

4,192

4,088

Chile

747

764

686

750

630

634

Japan

7,846

6,949

7,990

6,992

6,256

6,249

Malaysia

1,717

2,023

1,729

2,075

1,762

2,002

Mexico

3,816

3,807

4,004

3,977

3,952

3,806

New Zealand

387

397

410

420

365

344

Peru

417

429

407

395

301

332

Singapore

3,617

4,374

3,582

4,378

2,967

3,466

Vietnam

1,233

1,320

1,381

1,502

1,658

1,620

Source World Integrated Trade Solution (2017), Note *Statistics in 2010

3 Asian Regional Cooperation: RCEP and CPTPP Strategy …

51

2013 to 2.39 trillion US dollars in 2014 but declined to 2.31 trillion US dollars in
2015. Its export volumes increased from 1.59 trillion US dollars to 1.63 trillion US
dollars but dropped to 1.50 trillion US dollars heavily. As a result, USA made heavy
trade deficits in a row that is the same in the Japanese trade pattern (See Table 2).
It indicates that the RCEP may have a higher potential than the TPP to growfurther in the future because its most member nations particularly China, India, and
ASEAN countries can create high economic growth based on their trade volume
increase. Although four ASEAN member nations such as Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, their roles to contribute to a massive expansion for trade growth in the
TPP must be limited. Therefore, roles of these four ASEAN member nations can beintensified in the RCEP along with other rapidly developing nations such as China,
India, Indonesia, the Philippine, Thailand, etc. rather than in the TPP as a whole.
Such a trend will be even worse in the CPTPP without the US participation because
the total economic size of the CPTPP is shrunken to only one-third of the TPP. It is
the reason why Malaysia and Vietnam were heavily against participating in CPTPP
despite Abe’s attempts at persuasion in 2017. Finally, both member nations agreed
to participate in the CPTPP in March 2018 (Hoang and Hoan 2019).

4 Implications for East Asian Economic Cooperation
with or Without Brexit
Economic benefits for RCEP and the TPP to the Asia Pacific region have alreadybeen studied by a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model. Given the analysisof the CGE model, the RCEP generates a total increase of 644 billion US dollars that
accounts for 2% of Asian GDP by 2025 based on its GDP in 2007, while the TPP
creates 223 billion US dollars in the same year (Petri and Plummer 2014).
Additionally, the two mega FTAs could reduce the noodle bowl effect of overlapping bilateral FTAs in the region that hinders member nations from increasing
trade volumes and strengthening their trade interdependence and regional economic
integration. In fact, the noodle bowl effect has caused high costs to utilize preferential concessions for the private sector because the private sector must pay attention
to different rules and regulations. Accordingly, RCEP and the TPP can solve thenegative effects and achieve a complete set of free trade principles (Park 2016).
Trade dependency in the Asia Pacific region has increased substantially since
the year 2000. Most of the East Asian economies have become more dependent
on the RCEP than the TPP. Even Australia and New Zealand show their higher
trade dependency on RCEP than the TPP. However, Chinese trade dependency on
the RCEP was 14.96% in 2002 and decreased to 14.39% in 2012, while its tradedependency on the TPP accounted for 17.77% and declined to 15.78% in the same
period. Chinese trade dependency on ASEAN + 3 also declined from 14 to 11.98%
in the same period. It does not mean that Chinese economy was more linked to the
TPP than the RCEP, but it was rather more globalized during the same period.

52

S.-C. Park

However, the US trade dependency on ASEAN + 3, the RCEP, and the TPP
increased in the same period. Its trade dependency on ASEAN + 3 increased from
5 to 6.52%, while its trade dependency on the RCEP accounted for 4.96% in 2002
that increased to 7.17% in 2012. Its trade dependency on the TPP also increased
from 7.76 to 8.87% in the same period. It means that the Chinese economy has beenless dependent in the regional economic system and become more globalized, while
the US economy has become more integrated in the Asia Pacific economic system
although its shares are much lower than that of the Chinese (See Table 3).
The US withdrawal of the TPP is a strategic turning point in the open economicorder. In fact, the TPP cannot continue without the US participation. Therefore, RCEP
can be the only one mega FTA in the region that can solve most of the negative
problems for many bilateral FTAs although Japan created the CPTPP that cannot
compete with the RCEP in terms of the economic size. As a result, RCEP is now
the most significant initiative on the global trade scene in this regard. Unfortunately,
RCEP agreed to be completed without India in November 2019 and is expected tosign on in 2020 (Johnson 2019).
East Asian economies are the most dynamic in the world economy and integrated
to a high extent although there is no virtual legal framework like the EU and USMCA
except ASEAN. Thus, RCEP provides several implications for East Asian economic
Table 3 Trade interdependency ratio in mega FTAs member nations (2002–2012, %)ASEAN + 3

RCEP

TPP

2002

2012

2002

2012

2002

2012

Brunci

61,57

74,99

68,75

91,99

54,97

62,35

Cambodia

25,19

48,11

25,68

49,37

33,63

38,64

Indonesia

22,16

25,83

25,55

29,04

22,98

19,08

89,13

55,63

Laos*
Malaysia

84,5
85,25

Myanmar*

77,84

85,7
91,79

80,8

87,49
90,5

Philippines

39,89

24,98

42,09

29,34

52,4

20,1

Singapore

123,14

131,28133,95148,22

124,18

83,09

Thailand

48,62

67,69

52,35

74,67

52,61

51,05

Veit Nam

48,94

80,8

54,4

86,89

37,87

48,44

China

14

11,98

14,96

14,39

17,77

15,78

Japan

6

11,68

7,1

13,31

6,94

7,88

Korea

20

36,75

21,72

41,16

22,3

28,33

Australia

15

19,28

17,1

21,27

15,07

11,5

India

4

9,71

4,05

10,6

5,17

8,22

New Zealand

13

17,11

22,52

25,39

23,78

19,18

USA

5

6,52

4,96

7,17

7,76

8,87

Source Adopted by NEAT Working Group based on UN Comtrade and WDI Database, 2014

3 Asian Regional Cooperation: RCEP and CPTPP Strategy …

53

cooperation as follows; First, East Asian economies need to establish a solid platform
to intensify the regional economic integration for their further economic growth byforming a region-wide FTA. Second, the RCEP can contribute to liberalize trade andinvestment in the region. Still several nations such as China, India, Indonesia, andmany of the developing countries in RCEP have barriers to trade and investment. Easy
liberalization could create large economic gains not only for developing countries, butalso for developed countries in RCEP. Last, but not least, RCEP is a pathway to createa Free Trade Area of Asia and the Pacific (FTAAP) that pushes for opening market anddeepening reforms to strengthen economic integration not only for member nations,but also for Europe and the rest of the world (Armstrong and King 2017; Basu Dasu
2017).
So far, Brexit has been delayed since March 2019. It is still unclear to predictwhether Brexit can be realized or not. However, the UK government is keen toparticipate in the CPTPP if Brexit is realized, but has not expressed willingness toparticipate in RCEP. If the UK participates in the CPTPP, it becomes a real crossover, connecting Asia, Europe, and Oceania although there are several barriers suchas logistics, regulations, etc. Despite this fact, the two mega FTAs can play importantroles in strengthening Asian economic integration and cooperation representing free
trade in the global economy regardless of Brexit or no Brexit.

5 Conclusion Remarks
Trade and investment have contributed to global economic growth substantially inthe last five decades. During the period, the growth rate of trade has been doubled theeconomic growth rate. However, the global financial crisis in 2008 caused a severe
decline of trade and marked negative economic growth. Since the global financial
crisis, the world economy has started to recover by strengthening trade growth.
Unfortunately, however, the global trade growth rate started to be lower than the
global economic growth rate in 2012. Finally, the global trade growth rate declined
in 2015 compared with the previous year. This trend has continued since Brexit was
decided in 2016 and the Trump government came into power in 2017.
Despite slowing down of the trade growth, many nations prefer to choose regional
bilateral FTAs instead of multilateral FTAs in order to boost their economic growth.
This trend spread out in the Asia Pacific region, and nations in the region havecontinuously developed to negotiate plurilateral FTA such as China, Japan, Korea
FTA, and mega FTAs such as RCEP and TPP. Mega FTAs are not only for economic
cooperation but also for political and security cooperation in the Asia Pacific region.
Therefore, these FTAs compete with each other by setting trade rules although bothare declared open to any member nations in the region. Therefore, participating
nations in mega FTAs are keen to calculate their national interests that must be
maximized by choosing proper mega FTAs. In this sense, RCEP focuses mainly on
East Asian economic interests in particular, while the TPP seeks economic interests in

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S.-C. Park

the Asia Pacific region as a whole although all nations in the region do not participate
in the agreements.
RCEP completed its negotiation in November 2019 and targets to sign in 2020,
while the TPP was already completed in 2015. However, the US withdrawal fromthe TPP in Jan. 2017 changed the situation of mega FTAs completely. As a result, the
TPP is not expected to be put in force without the US participation because the US
economic share among the TPP member nations accounted for nearly 65% in 2015
and turned to the CPTPP in 2018 with a much smaller size. Therefore, the positionof RCEP is overwhelming at present in the region.
Many East Asian countries need to participate in the RCEP in order to solve
the noodle bowl effect because their regional bilateral FTAs are overlapped. Additionally, many developing nations in the region need to liberalize their trade andinvestment in RCEP in order to develop their national economies further. Moreover,member nations have to utilize RCEP as a platform to intensify the regional economic
integration that creates the regional economic system interdependent. The CPTPP
also provides such opportunity to the member nations. However, it is rather limited
compared with RCEP although the UK can participate in the CPTPP after Brexit.
By creating the regional economic bloc representing East Asian economic interests, RCEP can develop further to create the region-wide FTA that is the Free Trade
Agreement in Asia Pacific (FTAAP) pursuing open markets, protecting the global
free trade system and generating further global economic growth. Therefore, theRCEP can play roles in a close regional economic integration in East Asian countries that must be a pathway to set the FTAAP not only for the Asia Pacific region but
also for other part of economic regions. For it, not only large-sized economies suchas China, Japan, India, and Korea but also small-sized economies such as Malaysia,
Thailand, and Vietnam must play their roles as member nations actively in the RCEP.

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Sang-Chul Park has received Ph.D. degrees in political science in Aug. 1993 in Germany andeconomics in Feb. 1997 in Sweden. His dissertations discussed Technopolises in Japan. He also
passed a habilitation examination (full professorship) in political science in Nov. 2002 in Germany
as well as a docent evaluation (Swedish habilitation) in economics in Sep. 2004 in Sweden. He iscurrently a Full Professor at Graduate School of Knowledge based Technology and Energy, Korea
Polytechnic University. He was an Adjunct Professor at Center for Science-based Entrepreneurship, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), and a Visiting Professor at
Seoul National University, South Korea. He was also a Private Dozent at Justus Liebig University
in Giessen, Germany and Visiting Full Professor at Gothenburg University, Sweden. He served
as Associate Professor at Gothenburg University, Sweden from 2001 to 2003 and as Associate
Professor at Okayama University, Japan from 2003 to 2006. He also stayed as Visiting Professor
at Fudan University, China in Sep. 2014 and as Visiting Scholar at Asian Development Bank Institute, Japan in Oct. 2014. His research interests concern industrial policy and regional development and studies on innovation systems and on science parks and innovative clusters in particular.
Currently his research areas are expanded toward energy policy, sustainable development strategy,
high technology ventures and international business and trade. Since 2016, he has also served as
a visiting professor at Maria Currie Skldowska University, Poland, and at Chiang Mai National
University in Thailand since 2019.

Chapter 4

Recovery of the Sovereignty and Regional
Integration in EU and Asia After Brexit
Hitomi Kimura

Abstract The chapter focuses on the recovery of sovereignty and regional integration in the EU and Asia after Brexit. Sovereignty has been one of the key issues todetermine the relationship between the UK and EU from the time of joining the EU,
as well of leaving the EU. Brexit showed that is it necessary to choose either fromnational sovereignty or democracy to proceed with economic integration. In addition,
the UK parliamentary sovereignty, characterized by the adoption of the European
Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, which repeals supremacy and direct effect of the EU
law and get out of the jurisdiction of the ECJ, the rejection of the Withdrawal Agreement with the EU, meaningful and indicative vote, resolution to strengthen its power
to take back the control to stop no deal, and the prorogation, adds a unique flavor to
Brexit. The irony is that after triggering the first-ever Brexit, people realized the real
benefits from an integrated Europe as well as possible risks and threats including thedivide of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, instead of recovering full sovereignty from the EU. The political uncertainty of the domestic parliament in Europe could trigger the EU reform in the direction of having to admit further
substantive sovereignty of member states, reflecting Majone’s analysis that EU’s integration might have gone too far. The EU reform proposal of promoting multispeed
approach or differentiated integration by strengthening the social aspect to cope withdisparity among the people and the society, which has led to the rise of nationalism or
populism and Eurosceptic perspective, leads to recovery of sovereignty to members
states, but it should also be adjusted with Macron’s proposal to aim for strong EU.
The Brexit, so far, has not given a fundamental impact or change to the current statusquo of the regional integration in Asia, but rather, Asia is looking at how the EU
could reconstruct and rebuild its integration especially in the context of sovereignty
in the regional integration. Asia most likely continues to give priority to sovereignty
of member states, but at the same time, Asian regional organizations are gradually
moving closer to the supranational EU, by respecting and strengthening the rule oflaw to accelerate regional economic integration through the state sovereignty-based
Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP)or the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). Sovereignty in the
H. Kimura (B)Otsuma Women’s University, Tokyo, Japane-mail: kimura@otsuma.ac.jp© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
K. Haba and M. Holland (eds.), Brexit and After,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-7969-1_4

57

58

H. Kimuraongoing regional integration may differ according to its political, economic, social,historical and cultural factors, but continues as fundamental and crucial issue bothin EU and Asia after Brexit.

1 Introduction
Brexit posed the fundamental question about sovereignty in the context of regional
economic integration under the EU.1 At the time of establishing the European
Community, the UK was suspicious about limiting sovereignty and supported
the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), which does not limit sovereignty.
However, without any concrete result of establishing the EFTA, its member states
including the UK have joined the European Economic Community (EEC).2 After
Brexit, UK tries to conclude Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the EU3 and othercountries. The government networks outside the EU frameworks also did not workfor the UK to remain in the EU. Wasn’t it possible for the UK to pursue both economic
integration and sovereignty while maintaining the membership in the EU?
As Majone pointed out, has the EU’s integration gone too far? If so, what kindof economic cooperation should be pursued in the era of neoliberalism or populism?
Why was a supranational approach pursued only by the EU, Mercosur or the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, while the other economic integrations
such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the Dominican
Republic-Central America FTA (CAFTA-DR) promoted government networks?
Under such economic integration, to what extent is national sovereignty limited?
The EU has been pursued as a model for regional integration in Asia for a longtime such as by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)4 and theAsia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC),5 which pursues political and economic
integration, compared to market-driven regionalization such as NAFTA.6 However,
Asia has chosen to respect the sovereignty of member states from the very beginning, setting aside the legal integration. Was Asia more prescient in this respect?
Could the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the Regional Comprehensive Economic
Partnership (RCEP) or the Australia-New Zealand Closer Economic Relations Trade
Agreement (ANZCERTA) be an alternative to the supranational EU and be an appropriate model in Asia? Does the recent phenomenon of neoliberalism or populism
affect the economic integration in Asia? Are government network frameworks still
effective in Asia? What types of economic government networks are appropriate in
Asia? This chapter discusses these issues and questions.
1 Gowland (2017); Rose (2016).
2 Majone (2014); Shoji (2016); Nakamura (2016).
3 Coles (2016).
4 European Commission, The EU and ASEAN: A Partnership with a Strategic Purpose, JOIN (2015).
5 Langhmmer (1999); Garnaut (2000); Ravenhill (2001).
6 Gilpin (1997).

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59

2 UK’s Experience on Recovery of Sovereignty from the EU
As the Costa v. ENEL 7 case shows, sovereignty of the EU member state is limited
as far as it is transferred to the EU.8 Integration has been defined as “a process
for the creation of political communities” within which “states cease to be whollysovereign”.9 However, the nature of sovereignty of the member state to be devolved
or transferred to the EU is still unclear even after the Lisbon Treaty. One of the causesof Brexit is the strengthened power of the European Parliament over that of national
parliaments by expanding the scope of the Ordinary Legislative Procedure, but at
the same time, the Lisbon Treaty clarified the importance of respecting the national
identity.10
Since joining the EU and as the integration of the EU progresses, the UK has
suffered from the national sovereignty and supremacy of the EU law.11 Sovereignty
was also one of the four issues requested by the UK to be tackled by the EU in “A New
Settlement for the United Kingdom in a Reformed European Union”. This settlement
ends Britain’s obligation to work toward an “ever closer union” which is set out in
the Treaty, enhances the role of national parliaments by stopping the unfavorable
legislative proposals and fully implement the principle of subsidiarity.12 In response,
A New Settlement for the United Kingdom within the European Union in 2016
recognizes that the UK is not committed to further political integration into the EU, inlight of its specific situation under the Treaties, and ensures appropriate arrangement
to secure the principle of subsidiarity.13 Although this agreement became invalid due
to Brexit, it was clear that all these changes were based on the bottom-up À la kalte
Approach instead of top-down MoneApproach.14
The principle of subsidiarity is one of the key issues of sovereignty in the EU.15
MacCormick analyzes the UK’s transition from “sovereign states” to “post-sovereignstates” and transformation of sovereignty in the UK and the EU in the context of the

7 Case 6/64 Costa v ENEL [1964].
8 Prof. Sarooshi categorizes authorization to the international organizations in the following three

types; agency relationship, delegation and transfer. Saroochi (2005).
9 Haas (1970); A sovereignty state can be said to be one that holds and exercises supreme authority

within its territorial jurisdiction. This can be called the Westphalian model (after the Treaty of Westphalia of 1648) of territorially exclusive sovereign states with an internal monopoly of violence (theability to make and enforce law and order), control over external security, a central administration
with tax-raising powers and central institutions with policy-making powers. Caporaso (1996).
10 Suami (2016); Craig (2013).
11 Hirokatsu (2015); Geddes (2004); Niblett (2016).
12 PM letter to President of the European Union Council Donald Tusk (2015); Pulvirenti (2016).
13 European Council, Decisions of the Heads of States or Government, Meeting within the European Council, Concerning A New Settlement for the United Kingdom within the European Union,
European Council Meeting (18 and 19 February 2016) Conclusions, 19 February 2016.
14 Majone, supra note 2.; Shoji, supra note 2, p. 64.; Priban (2015).
15 Regarding subsidiarity, see below. Endo (2001).

60

H. Kimuraprinciple of subsidiarity.16 To monitor the principle of subsidiarity, early warning
mechanism was introduced based on the 2004 Constitutional Treaty by requesting
national parliaments to send opinions to the EU, if they find the draft EU legislation
is not in conformity with the principle of subsidiarity.17 The Protocol on the roleof national parliaments in the EU also clarified the role of national parliaments tomonitor the legislation process of the EU. However, these EU’ efforts to ensure
democracy by strengthening the role of national parliaments18 were not effective
enough for the UK to remain in the EU, but rather prolonged the Brexit process by
allowing the swing of national parliament between getting out of and remaining in
the EU.
As Prof. Rodrik insists, to proceed with economic integration, is it necessary tochoose either from national sovereignty or democracy? Otherwise, economic integration itself should be abandoned to keep both national sovereignty and democracy.19 Is this theory applied to the UK, which tried to pursue both through thenational referendum? In the first place, was the national referendum an appropriate
approach to decide Brexit20 ? The similar political debate between the market accessand sovereignty can also be observed in the EU-Switzerland Institutional Framework
Agreement negotiation in 2019.21 The transfer of sovereignty from the national to
the supranational EU was not coincidental with that of democracy.22
In 2015, the UK High Court of Justice judged that the Parliament’s approvalis necessary to give notice under Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union, in
respect of the constitution.23 The Supreme Court of the UK also confirmed thisjudgment.24 After triggering Brexit, to annul the European Communities Act of
16 MacCormick (1999); Martin Loughlin, Why Sovereignty? in Rawlings et al. (eds.), supra note

10, p.45.
17 Jančić (2015); Hettne (2014); Kiiver (2012); Cooper (2006); Cygan (2006).
18 Shoji, supra note 2, pp. 120-121.
19 Rodrik (2000).
20 Cameron (2019); Jones (2018).
21 European Parliament (2018); American Swiss Foundation (2019).
22 Baker and Schnapper (2015).
23 R (Miller) -v- Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union (2016), In the High Court ofJustice, Queen’s Bench Division, Divisional Court, Before: Lord Chief Justice of England andWales, The Master of the Rolls, Lord Justice Sales, Between: The Queen on the application of(1) Gina Miller & (2) Deir Tozetti Dos Santos – Claimants -v- The Secretary of State for Exiting
the European Union- Defendant, at https://www.judiciary.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/rmiller-v-secretary-of-state-for-exiting-eu-amended-20161122.pdf (as of 10 April 2020).; R (Miller)
v. Secretary of State for Existing the European Union, Summary of the judgment of the Divisional
Court (2016); University of Cambridge, Brexit: High Court ruling on Article 50 explained (2020).;
The Guardian (2016); BBC (2016).
24 Judgment, R (on the application of Miller and another) (Respondents) v. Secretary of State for
Exiting the European Union (Appellant), Reference by the Attorney General for Northern Ireland-In
the matter of an application by Agnew and others for Judicial Review, Reference by the Court ofAppeal (Northern Ireland)-In the matter of an application by Raymond McCord for Judicial Review,
Judgment given on 24 January 2017, heard on 5,6,7 and 8 December 2016. Hilary Term [2017]UKSC

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61

1972, the UK Parliament adopted the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (theformer Great Repeal Bill), which repeals supremacy and direct effect of the EU
law and departure from the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice (ECJ)
upon completion of the negotiations. UK Parliament’s rejection of the former Prime
Minister May’s Withdrawal Agreement with the EU, discussion on the “meaningfulvote” and implementation of the legally non-binding indicative vote,25 adoption of
the resolution to strengthen its power to take back the control of Brexit and stop
no-deal Brexit and the prorogation assuming the Eurosceptic new Prime Minister
Boris Johnson, reminds us that the UK is a state of parliamentary sovereignty.26 The
principle of parliamentary sovereignty was also supported not only by the former
Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercaw, but also by the UK Supreme Court,
which judged that suspending parliament was unlawful.27 Backstop to avoid a hardborder between the Northern Ireland and Ireland has been the most sensitive andburning issue in the Brexit negotiation, since it touches directly upon the territorial
sovereignty of the UK, as well as of the Ireland which remains in the EU.28
It seems that UK sovereignty does not benefit from an integrated Europe, but is
it really so? The recent series of extension of Brexit, the first time by 12 April or
22 May 2019 before the European Parliament election 2019, the second time by
31 October 2019 by Theresa May, and the third time by 31 January 2020 as Prime
Minister Boris Johnson’s compromise reflecting strong opposition by the Parliamentand people in the UK, implies that they now realize the real benefits from an integrated
Europe, which has not been recognized for a long time because they are so obvious
and natural. As the Brexit, especially the no-deal or the hard Brexit without any
agreement, becomes real,29 people realize the possible risks and even threats of what
they might lose instead of recovering full sovereignty from the EU. The First Ministerof Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon, declared to seek the second referendum by 2021 to be
independent of the UK and remain in the EU. Brexit may divide the United Kingdomof Great Britain and Northern Ireland, consisting of England, Wales, Scotland, andNorthern Ireland.
However, it is also true that even so, there is almost an equivalent or half of the
population who would seek Brexit in the name of recovering sovereignty from the
EU. The rising nationalistic opinions and voices were picked up by the Brexit Party
launched toward the 2019 European Parliament Election by the former head of theextreme populism UK Independence Party (UKIP), Nigel Farage. Sovereignty has
been one of the key issues dividing the UK and EU from the very beginning of joining
the EU, as well as leaving the EU.
5, On appeals from: [2016]EWHC 2768 (Admin) and [2016]NIQB 88, at https://www.supremeco
urt.uk/cases/docs/uksc-2016-0196-judgment.pdf (as of 10 April 2020).; The Supreme Court, Article
50 ‘Brexit’ Appeal (2016). .
25 Miller (2019). House of Commons Library (2019),; Jack et al. (2019).
26 Kimura (2018a, b).
27 Graeme Cowie (2019).
28 Grote (2012); Humphreys (2018).
29 Department for Exiting the European Union (2018),; UK Parliament (2019).

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H. Kimura

3 Supranational Approach or Intergovernmental
Cooperation?
The relation between national sovereignty and regional integration has been analyzed
from various points; (i) To what extent deviation from joint action is allowed; (ii)
How is regional integration law incorporated into national laws; (iii) How does
national government involvement in dispute settlement?30 This section focuses on
the dichotomy between supranational approach and government cooperation.
Confrontation between the supranational approach and government networks has
been one of the fundamental issues of integration since the establishment of theEU, as well as one of the factors of the past several crises in Europe. Supranational
approach is based on the acquis communautaire by strengthening the power of European Parliament or the European Commission, while government networks are basedon the respect for the European Council. Even among the core member states, thepreference differs; UK, France and some Northern European countries prefer government cooperation, while Germany prefers supranational approach. In the first place,the first pillar of the EU (European Community: EC) was based on supranational
approach, while the second pillar (Common Foreign and Security Policy: CFSP) andthe third pillar (Police and Judicial Co-operation in Criminal Matters: PJCCM) werebased on government cooperation before the amendment by the Lisbon Treaty.31
Certain problems could only be dealt with through intergovernmental cooperation.32
The Lisbon Treaty revitalized the governmental networks,33 in which intergovernmental cooperation or external governance is effective.34 However, opt-out clause35
30 Matsumoto (2009).
31 Kawashima (2014); Suami, supra note 10, pp.98-98.; Schildt (2009); Miyamoto (2002); Memo-randum on the Organization of a System of Federal European Union (2020).; British Prime Minister
Tony Blair’s speech to the Polish Stock Exchange in Warsaw (2000); Gerbet (2016); Ofuji (2017);
Tsuruoka (2011).
32 Schrpf (1998); Fabbrini (2018).
33 Dougan (2008).
34 Lavenex and Schimmelfennig (2009); Hofmann (2011); Stetter (2013).
35 Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) defines that “1. Any Member State may decideto withdraw from the Union in accordance with its own constitutional requirements. 2. A Member
State which decides to withdraw shall notify the European Council of its intention. In the light of theguidelines provided by the European Council, the Union shall negotiate and conclude an agreementwith that State, setting out the arrangements for its withdrawal, taking account of the framework
for its future relationship with the Union. That agreement shall be negotiated in accordance with
Article 218(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. It shall be concluded onbehalf of the Union by the Council, acting by a qualified majority, after obtaining the consent of theEuropean Parliament. 3. The Treaties shall cease to apply to the State in question from the date ofentry into force of the withdrawal agreement or, failing that, two years after the notification referred
to in paragraph 2, unless the European Council, in agreement with the Member State concerned,
unanimously decides to extend this period. 4. For the purposes of paragraphs 2 and 3, the memberof the European Council or of the Council representing the withdrawing Member State shall notparticipate in the discussions of the European Council or Council or in decisions concerning it.
A qualified majority shall be defined in accordance with Article 238(3)(b) of the Treaty on the4 Recovery of the Sovereignty and Regional Integration …

63

added to the Lisbon Treaty threatens the integrity of the EU itself and this concern
became real by the Brexit. Intergovernmentalism, supranationalism, and constructivism apply to different cases of differentiation, but the choice of opt-out reflecting
one single national interest is out of the scope of integration theory.36 In response to
Brexit, is it necessary to incorporate opt-out clause based on national interest in the
integration theory in the new era of post-Brexit?
This dichotomy has transformed into the discussion focused more on functional
aspect of the EU, as Tony Blair mentioned in his speech that “Europe is a Europe of
free, independent sovereign nations who choose to pool that sovereignty in pursuitof their own interests and the common good, achieving more together than we canachieve alone. The EU will remain a unique combination of the intergovernmental
and the supranational.” Discussion on supranational approach or intergovernmental
cooperation goes back to the issue of the principle of subsidiarity.37
If the agreement under the Treaty was difficult, the government networks outside
the EU frameworks were sought or some of them were incorporated into the Treaty
based on variable geometry or multi-speed integration.38 However, the economic
government networks outside the EU frameworks such as the European Stability
Mechanism (ESM), the Fiscal Compact or the Euro Plus Pact (Stronger Economic
Policy Coordination for Competitiveness and Convergence) also did not work for
the UK to remain in the EU.
More fundamentally, the regional economic institutions such as EU do not necessarily prevent the populism or nationalism, but rather could erode the multilateralism
and promote protectionism against counties outside of the system.39 The recent EUwide evolution of populism or nationalism threatens the further integration of Europe.
In this sense, EU’s integration might have gone too far as Majone pointed out. If so,
what kind of economic cooperation should be pursued in the era of neoliberalism or
populism?
The similar attitude of the UK has also been seen in other member states as they
do not want to lose their control and face integration fatigue, in spite of increasing
the necessity to solve various problems at the EU level.40 The repeated compromise and concession from the EU side respecting the decision by the UK showed
the greatest consideration of state sovereignty of member states. The long-standing
Brexit process also delayed the discussion of future EU reform, facing the urgent
necessity to prepare for “no deal”,41 which may have significantly negative impact
to the European economy as well as politics. Macron’s proposal on future EU reform
Functioning of the European Union. 5. If a State which has withdrawn from the Union asks torejoin, its request shall be subject to the procedure referred to in Article 49.”.
36 Adler-Nissen (2014).
37 Hachiya (2002).
38 Tanaka (2017).
39 Mansfield and Milner (2009).
40 Zuleeg (2015).
41 European Commission (2018a); EUROPEAN COMMISSION (2018b); EUROPEAN COMMISSION (2018c); European Commission (2018d).

64

H. Kimuraincludes a common budget for the euro or strengthening of defense, on which hewarns as “on the edge of a precipice42 ”. Tighter border control through the amendment of the Schengen Agreement, or the establishment of a European agency forthe protection of democracies43 against the rise of nationalism,44 all deeply relate tonational sovereignty of member states, who seem to seek a stronger EU.
European Parliament election 2019 finally resulted in the sluggish increase of theconcerned Euroscepticism, which would not lead to major changes to EU policy
on Brexit. In the UK, pro-EU campaigner and pro-Brexit balanced again, with theincreased seats by the Brexit Party, the Liberal Democrats and the Green Party anddecreased seats by the Labour Party and the ruling Conservative and Unionist Party.
However, the political uncertainty and instability increase in major member states,
where single majority cannot be achieved in their domestic parliaments like the hungparliament in the UK. This political uncertainty of domestic parliament could trigger
the EU reform in the direction of having to admit further substantive sovereignty ofmember states.
The EU reform proposal of promoting a multispeed approach or differentiatedintegration by strengthening the social aspect to cope with disparity among people,
which has led to the rise of nationalism or populism and Eurosceptic perspective,
leads to the recovery of sovereignty to member states.45 The new President-electof the European Commission, Ursula Gertrud von der Leyen’s “My Agenda for
Europe46 ” includes “An economy that works for people.” If this agenda could achieve
the reform of Euro or accept various currencies, it would respect and strengthen
sovereignty of member states. These ideas of reforming EU might be contradictory
to Macron’s proposal on further integration by pursuing strong EU, so the future figureof the EU lies in between. In other words, the issue is how differentiated integration
maintains EU cohesion and coherence as well as the legitimacy and transparency of
EU decisions.47

42 The Economist, 9th November 2019, p.9.
43 Élysée (2019); Deutsche Welle, 4 March 2019.
44 Regarding the crisis of democracy even before the Brexit in the EU and members states, see
below. Baker and Schnapper (2015).
45 European Parliament, Future of Europe debates III (2019); Fukuda (2019); Fabbrini and Schmidt(2019).
46 6 policy targets include; A European Green Deal; An economy that works for people; A Europe
fit for the digital age; Protecting our European way of life; A stronger Europe in the world;
A new push for European democracy. Ursula von der Leyen, A Union that strives for more:
My agenda for Europe, POLITICAL GUIDELINES FOR THE NEXT EUROPEAN COMMISSION 2019-2024, at https://ec.europa.eu/commission/sites/beta-political/files/political-guidelinesnext-commission_en.pdf (as of 10 April 2020).
47 Fabbrini and Schmidt, supra note 45, p.173.

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65

4 Implications for Asia
The EU has been pursued as a model for regional integration in Asia for a long timesuch as by ASEAN. ASEAN and the EU have also developed their relationship invarious fields including the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM).48 Asia has also benefitted from the integration of EU.49 On the other hand, many Asian scholars insist
that the EU cannot be a model for East Asian regional integration.50 ASEAN haschosen to respect the sovereignty of member states from the very beginning. Neither
supranational organization nor shared sovereignty in the EU was never on the agenda,
although the loss of sovereignty was also feared by the EU and NAFTA.51 Unlike
other regional organizations, the ASEAN does not share a common language, religion
or history.52 This diverse character of Asia is one of the reasons why sovereignty was
not transferred to the ASEAN at the initial moment of its establishment. In general,
becoming a member of international organizations does not mean the automatic lossof sovereignty.53
ASEAN was initially established as political association and later developed
toward economic integration.54 It started with Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines,
Singapore, and Thailand, and enlarged to Brunei (ASEAN6), Vietnam, Laos,
Myanmar and Cambodia (ASEAN10), and proposed to establish the ASEAN
Economic Community (AEC) and a single market by 2015. Economic integration isclearly the current objective of ASEAN.55 As Article 2(2)(n) of the ASEAN Charter
mentions the commitment of ASEAN member states to act in accordance with theprinciple of “adherence to multilateral trade rules and ASEAN’s rule-based regimes
for effective implementation of economic commitments and progressive reduction
toward elimination of all barriers to regional economic integration,” the rule of law isa major pillar of ASEAN in the pursuit of the AEC.56 This is basically in line with thesituation where the European integration systems are viable only if the relevant rules
are strictly enforced.57 Thus, if the member states of ASEAN follow the rule of law,they might change their mindset from the traditional state sovereignty to a rule-based
48 Cremona et al. (2015); Suami (2018); Tanaka (2016).
49 Plummer (1994); Daisuke Hiratsuka, Impact of the Single European Market on ASEAN and

China, Ibid, pp.266-284.
50 Nakamura (2009).
51 Sutcliffe (2016); Pelkmans (2016); Woon (2016); Dispute resolution mechanism under the

NAFTA shows some aspect of transfer of sovereignty can been seen. Nagao (1996).
52 Jetin and Mikic (2016); Chaponnière and Lautier (2016); Hwee (2015); Stubbs (2002).
53 Suzuki (1986); Based on the idea that interference in the domestic situations of states should

not be the immediate responsibility of the Security Council, China and Russia strongly support
the principle of national sovereignty and make use of the veto powers to block Security Council
Resolutions or agree to intervention under Chap. 7 of the Charter. Elgebeily (2017).
54 Alker and Puchala argue that the level of economic interaction between nations can serve as areliable indicator of their degree of political integration. Alker and Puchala (1968).
55 Laursen (2010).
56 Inama and Sim (2015).
57 Tomuschat (2012).

66

H. Kimuralegally binding institutional form.58 However, the sovereignty continues to remain
basically in the hands of each member state in Asia, unlike in the supranational EU.
This is considered to be one of the reasons behind the recent evolution of TransPacific Partnership (TPP) or the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership(RCEP), which is based on state sovereignty. Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP)59 which entered into force in 2018,
includes 11 countries - Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico,
New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam. However, the US withdrew from the
TPP negotiation in 2017, since it is also considered it as threat to sovereignty anddemocracy. Instead of TPP without the USA, RCEP caught international attention.
After India’s withdrawal from the negotiation in 2019 due to its fear of the negative impact of free trade on its domestic agricultural industry, 15 countries including
10 ASEAN member states, Japan, China, Korea, Australia and New Zealand, tried
to agree on RCEP. The purpose of RCEP is to combine individual FTAs, which
ASEAN has already concluded with other countries. The recently revealed RCEP
clauses include that of dispute settlement, which determines the relation between
national sovereignty and regional integration.
The Australia–New Zealand Closer Economic Relations Trade Agreement(ANZCERTA) is one of the most comprehensive bilateral trade agreements in the
Asia-Pacific region. Possible lessons for ASEAN include the importance of strong
political support at the leadership level, periodic setting by leaders of objectives forthe integration process, and the pursuit of wide-ranging economic reform agendas
as natural extensions of the domestic reform process.60
Some issues can better be handled at the decentralized level. In this respect,
APEC based on open regionalism could play a more important role than ASEAN inbuilding regulatory capacity to cope with, for example, the regional environmental
issues in the framework of loose government networks.61 The NAFTA environmental
enforcement network plays a strong role in implementing the agenda and complements the role of an international organization62 without transferring sovereignty or
supranational organization. However, flexibility in the guise of multispeed dynamics
differentiated treatment of particular issues and even opt-outs for individual states.
Canada, for example, has opted out of NAFTA environmental sanction, preferringinstead to use its own domestic measure.63 APEC Environment Committee pursues
the NAFTA’s Commission for Environmental Cooperation, but so far, the integration
58 Nakamura (2018).
59 New Zealand, Foreign Affairs & Trade (2018).
60 Scollay et al. (2010); Australian Government, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Australia-

New Zealand Closer Economic Relations Trade Agreement (2018.
61 Kotzé (2018).; Among Asia, government networks also depend on each sector. Environmental

government networks in Asia, for example, defy four main types of networks; (1) transgovernmental
regulatory networks; (2) intergovernmental organisation networks; (3) research-oriented networks;and (4) regional networks. Kimura (2017).
62 Regarding environmental cooperation under the NAFTA, see. Hoi L. Kong and L. Kinvin Wroth(eds.) (2015).; Torres (1999.
63 Alex Warleigh-Lack (2016); Sanchez (2002).

4 Recovery of the Sovereignty and Regional Integration …

67

of environment and economy has not been successful.64 Instead, under the TPP and
RCEP, the recent environmental actions are considered as requisites for boosting thesustainable growth of the economy in the region, rather than as dilemma between
economic growth.

5 Conclusion
Sovereignty has been one of the key issues determining the relation between the
UK and EU from the time of joining the EU, as well as of leaving the EU. Brexit
showed that is it necessary to choose either from national sovereignty or democracy
to proceed economic integration. In addition, the UK parliamentary sovereignty,
characterized by the adoption of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, which
repeals supremacy and direct effect of EU law and departure from the jurisdiction of
the ECJ, the rejection of the Withdrawal Agreement with the EU, meaningful voteand indicative vote, resolution to strengthen its power to take back the control to stop
no-deal, and the prorogation, adds a unique flavor to Brexit. The irony is that after
triggering Brexit, people realized the real benefits from an integrated Europe, as wellas possible risks and threats including the divide of the United Kingdom of GreatBritain and Northern Ireland, instead of recovering full sovereignty from the EU.
The UK may suffer from the confrontation between the Leave camp and the Remaincamp even after Brexit.
The Lisbon Treaty revitalized the governmental networks and weakened supranational approach, but its opt-out clause threatened the integrity of the EU itself
through Brexit. Intergovernmentalism, supranationalism, and constructivism apply
to different cases of differentiation, but the choice of opt-out reflecting one single
national interest is out of the scope of integration theory. The recent EU-wide riseof populism or nationalism also threatens the further integration of Europe, but thesluggish increase of Euroscepticism in the European Parliament election of 2019
would not lead to major changes to EU policy on Brexit. However, the politicaluncertainty of domestic parliament could trigger the EU reform in the direction of
having to admit further substantive sovereignty of member states, reflecting Majone’s
analysis that EU’s integration might have gone too far. The EU reform proposal ofpromoting multispeed approach or differentiated integration by strengthening thesocial aspect to cope with disparity among the people and society, which has led to
the rise of nationalism or populism and Eurosceptic perspective, leads to recovery
of sovereignty among member states, but it should also be adjusted with Macron’s
proposal to aim for strong EU. At the same time, differentiated integration should
also maintain EU cohesion and coherence as well as the legitimacy and transparencyof the EU.
Brexit so far has not given a fundamental impact or change to the current statusquo of the regional integration in Asia. Rather, Brexit was a severe body blow to
64 Dua and Esty (1997).

68

H. Kimurathe EU’s image as a successful, supranational regional entity that delivers peace
and prosperity to its member states65 by allowing further sovereignty of member
states. Therefore, Asia is looking at how the EU could reconstruct and rebuild its
integration especially in the context of sovereignty in the regional integration. Asia
most likely continues to give priority to sovereignty, but at the same time, Asian
regional organizations are gradually moving closer to the EU, by respecting andstrengthening the rule of law to accelerate regional economic integration. It is naturalthat the rule of law is a major pillar of the current ASEAN in the pursuit of economic
integration through the AEC, considering that the strict enforcement of relevant rules
was requisite to the European integration systems. The recent clear sign of respecting
the rule of law might change the traditional Asian posture toward state sovereignty.
However, the sovereignty continues to remain basically in the hands of each member
states in Asia, unlike in the supranational EU. Instead of the Comprehensive andProgressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), which entered into
force among 11 countries without the USA in 2018, RCEP caught international
attention by combining individual FTAs, which ASEAN has already concluded, butboth of which are based on state sovereignty. The further elaboration and clarificationof the RCEP clause on dispute settlement are worthwhile to analyze the relationshipbetween national sovereignty and regional integration. While strengthening the ruleof law to promote economic integration in Asia, some issues such as environmental
problems continue to be better handled at the decentralized level in the frameworkof loose government networks, such as the APEC, TPP, or RCEP.
The issue of sovereignty is traditional, but at the same time, timely and modern.
Sovereignty in the ongoing regional integration may differ according to its political,
economic, social, historical, and cultural factors but continues as a fundamental andcrucial issue both in EU and Asia after Brexit.

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Hitomi Kimura is an Associate Professor in international and domestic environmental law
at Otsuma Women’s University, Tokyo. Her research areas include climate change law andpolicy, the international and regional law making, the national implementation, and its interaction of international environmental law. She also worked in the what is now Mitsubishi UFJ
Research and Consulting, as a researcher, the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies as a
researcher/fellow, taught foreign students at the University of Tokyo’s Graduate School of Arts
and Sciences, as part-time Lecturer, stayed at Aix-Marseille University (CERIC) and the University of Sydney Law School, as short Visiting and the Institute of Comparative Law of Waseda
University, as Adjunct Researcher. She currently serves as Chair of Outreach Committee of the74

H. Kimura

Japan Chapter of the Asian Society of International Law and the Secretary of Kanto Subcommittee of the European Union Studies Association-Japan. She holds a B.A. (Sophia), an M.A.
(Nagoya), an LL.M. (Temple), and a Ph.D. (Waseda).; Her major publications include; “Environmental Government Networks with Asian Examples” In Cullen et al. (eds.) Experts, Networks andInternational Law (Cambridge University Press, 2017); “EU and UK Law Issues on Brexit(2)-The
Second Stage of the Negotiation” Review of European Law, Vol. 5 (2018).

Chapter 5

Brexit and Trump: Genuine
Anti-Globalization Revolution
or the Repetition of 1848
Binoy Kampmark and Petar Kurečić

Abstract The year 2016 saw several tumultuous political developments. Brexit,
the de facto end of the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the concurrent signing of
the CETA, and Trump, with his ‘America First’ counter globalization/immigration
agenda seemed to have shaken the mechanisms of the transnational capitalist class.
The paradox lies in the fact that ‘globalization losers’ voted for ‘one percent’, usually
blamed for the transnational financial capitalism that produces severe inequality.
The counter globalization and nationalist processes from states deemed the chief
proponents of ‘globalization’ and challenges represented by ‘Bannonism’ and Brexit
are therefore considered. While superficially radical, it is questionable whether theinequalities and atomization produced by global capitalism will be redressed by the
managers of Brexit or the stewards of the Trump revolution. The ‘post-truth era’ hasmade actual changes more formidable, suggesting change, even as the order ossifies.
By way of contrast and comparison, 1848s Year of Revolutions is suggested.
Keywords Brexit · Trump revolution · Counterrevolution · Globalization ·Bannonism

1 Introduction
In 2009, Dani Rodrik noted the ‘remarkable turnaround in the intellectual climate’
among mainstream economists: Today the question is no longer, “Are you for oragainst globalisation?” The question is: ‘What should the rules of globalisation be?’As Rodrik points out, the model of liberalization and economic integration of the
1980s and 1990s ‘is unsustainable. If globalisation is to survive, it will need a new
intellectual consensus to underpin it. The world economy desperately awaits its new
B. Kampmark
RMIT University, Carlton, Australia
e-mail: binoy.kampmark@rmit.edu.au
P. Kurečić (B)University North, Koprivnica, Croatia
e-mail: Peter.kurecic@unin.hr© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
K. Haba and M. Holland (eds.), Brexit and After,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-7969-1_5

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Keynes’ (Harris and Davidson 2010: 225). Nevertheless, globalization, as understood by politicians, policymakers, academicians, and the public has failed to satisfy
its expectations and promises made by its advocates—as Polanyi predicted in The
Great Transformation, further stating that the failure of globalization to deliver on
its promises is driving the rise of nationalism and protectionism across the globe(Pettifor 2017). Contrary to Hayek’s assessments, financial globalization has provedthat it is market fundamentalism, not the regulatory state, that has led the world
into an era of greater authoritarianism—in the USA, Central East Europe, India,
and China (Pettifor 2017). The rise in inequality is one of the main drivers of thegrievance of the middle class in the West, combined with the moving of productive
jobs to countries with lower wages, as well as increased levels of immigration. All
these developments have been blamed on processes of globalization.
Nobel prize-winning economists Stiglitz and Krugman, while remaining
supporters of expanding trade and transnational integration, have on numerous occasions called for greater financial regulation and attention to global inequalities.
Krugman suggests the global slump can be fixed, at least in part, with public works’spending: ‘The answer, almost surely, is good old Keynesian fiscal stimulus’ (Harrisand Davidson 2010: 217).
At first, it would seem preposterous that the administration of G. W. Bush, led
by the most right-wing president in living memory, took the unprecedented step of
pursuing a form of ‘financial socialism’ (Taylor et al. 2009), rescuing private financewith public finance (Watson 2010: 245). The Obama administration continued where
the previous administration, which is the most to blame for the situation, had alreadytaken off.
However, in 2017, after the results of the good old fiscal stimulus used in copingwith the Great Recession have been known, the real question remains: Has anything
substantial changed in the regulations of the world’s most prominent Western
economies and especially their obese financial sectors, which have been the cradlesof the crisis, ruining millions of jobs, causing panic on the financial and real-estatemarkets, making hundreds of thousands of families homeless, and still mostly beenable to survive (or even become richer) thanks to tax-payers’ money from that same
miracle-working Keynesian fiscal stimulus? This state of denial, also known as ‘business as usual’ as if the Great Recession never happened and there are no prospects that
it will happen again: ‘The truly remarkable feature of the Great Recession, though, is
not its dramatic global scope or the speed with which it has unfolded, but how little
constructive reform response it has elicited from the leaders of the source countries
for this global economic crisis’. What raises most concerns is the following: ‘We are
hardly witness to a “New Deal” of some leftist dreams, not even one “right sized”
for the shallower depths of the Great Recession’ (Mayer 2015).
Vanaik (2013: 210) also warned of the more or less back to ‘business as usual’:‘Indeed, despite the several crises that have peppered the neoliberal era, culminating
most recently in the “Great Recession” globally, it is “business as usual”. Thosecalling for an international monetary managerialism of a serious kind and not justfor greater and better “regulation of the world financial system” remain a small
minority among decision-makers and shapers’.

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After Brexit and Trump‚ a rhetorical question should be posed: ‘Are New Dealsof any kind bound to happen, and was “business as usual” (for the financial sectors
and elites of the West, after the Great Recession) maybe the key factor that madethese developments possible?’ Brexit and Trump can be perceived as reactions of thedemos in two significant states, one formerly dominant globally; the other currently
hegemonic (albeit being challenged). Both powers were salient promoters of free
trade ideologies, open borders, and an unstable international financial system. The
only possible positive features of these developments are the ‘shake-ups’ these havecaused to the transnational elites of the USA and Europe.
Hence by 2025, six emerging economies—Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, South
Korea, and Russia—will collectively account for about one-half of global growth(Yifu Lin and Dailami 2011: 30), the real question for the West, and especially theUSA, as a still dominant state, remains—how to keep and try to raise the standard ofliving, while at the same time cope with increased productivity and lower production
expenses of the emerging economies. Trump’s promises of protectionism, i.e. keeping
and returning ‘US jobs’ to America, respectively, attempt to address these realities.
Although it has one key flaw—in an internationalized economy, which has been,promoted from the West, if not by power of ‘peaceful persuasion’ and regulations thatfavour the developed economies of the West, then by force, there are no guaranteed‘US jobs’ or ‘UK jobs’ (Lovett 2008). There are only capitalists and the regulationsof the states that should limit the potentially hazardous effects of capitalism’s searchfor profits. It is precisely in that aspect that the elites of the most powerful Westernstates have ultimately failed.

2 Brexit and Trump: False Setbacks to Neoliberal
Geopolitics?
At present we can still witness the continuous success of neoliberalism and neoliberalgeopolitics, although its demise has been prognosticated due to the Great Recession,and consequently the revival of Keynesianism in economic policy. Keynesianism
has indeed been the last resort of non-Keynesian economic theorists every time
market dogmas fail; the state takes the role of stabilizer of the banking sector, andthe economy in general. Despite these well known, historical recurrences, the spatial
practice of neoliberal geopolitics, at the insistence of its ideologues, prospers: themantra of ‘free markets’, a minor interventionist role of the state in the economy,
free-trade agreements and so forth (Kurecic 2016: 14). With some minor, however,not very functional exceptions, mainly located in Latin America (e.g. Venezuela),neoliberal capitalism still thrives in the majority of the world’s regions, and risks overwhelming those final oases of the functional welfare state (Scandinavia, Germany,
Austria, France, and Benelux, i.e. the developed states of continental Europe), withother parts of the world already incorporated. Further deterioration of workers’ rights,
especially of the blue-collar middle and low paid workers, the ones who proved

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essential in sending Trump to the White House and voted to pull the UK out of theEuropean Union (hereafter: the EU), has to be expected. The masses of white (this isimportant, due to the role of the immigration in Brexit and Trump campaigns, respectively), primarily working class or retired Britons and Americans and parts of petitbourgeoisie, respectively, were faced with a choice between two types of oligarchies,
one supporting free trade and globalization and against restricting immigration, theother seeking more protectionism and strict restrictions to immigration. In 2016,a certain demographic of white voters, when faced with choice between ‘Leave’and ‘Remain’, Clinton and Trump, respectively, overwhelmingly chose the type ofoligarchy that promised to protect their jobs and/or pensions. This near-tragic, if notcomic outcome suggests the levels of disappointment with the transnational capitalist
oligarchy/class (the TNC), that has ruled them for decades. Instead of choosing theones that have promised to change the social relations and restrict the power of theoligarchy, they have simply backed the other type of oligarchy.
It is clear, either from the rise of populists and/or voter abstention, that thebourgeois state, invented to serve the interests of the bourgeoisie (at present day,primarily neoliberal capitalists, the TNC, etc.) legitimized through ‘democracy’ (inmost aspects reduced to the fact that a voter can choose between a bigger and a lesser
evil every four years while his/her economic freedom is reduced constantly), has been
losing its attractiveness. As Rancière (1998: 113) posed: ‘Marx’s once scandalous
thesis that governments are simple business agents for international capital is today
an obvious fact on which “liberals” and “socialists” agree’. Such political inertia
has also been considered as post-democratic, with citizens disengaged and estranged
from political and economic processes that eliminate genuine social and politicalantagonism. This neutralisation keeps, or at least kept, the liberal democratic edificeunchallenged (Crouch 2004). Historians have already spoken about the similarities
with the 1930s Europe and warned that the events from the Great Depression era
could be repeated, though other comparisons point to earlier populist phases in the
US history. In that context, the implications of Brexit are yet to be seen, though it canbe argued that contestation and grounds for being antagonised have been revived.
The UK has clearly stated that it wants to pursue free trade (the point is reiterated
later in this paper); with the main difference comprised in the fact that now it would
make its own free-trade agreements with states and free-trade areas, independently of
the EU. The grounds of contestation and challenging the post-democratic state werealso revived through Trump’s negative views towards free trade and protectionist
intentions; some of this had already taken form with the US withdrawal from theTrans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Its consequences, however, are still not quantifiable. The second key issue that decided the US elections, besides opposition to free
trade and offshoring of US jobs, is immigration and undocumented labour. The US
economy depends to a large degree on low-paid legal and illegal immigrants, mainly
originating from Latin America.

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3 Why Brexit and What Kind of Brexit
Brexit is a product of two main factors: the neoliberalisation of the British society,and the rising influx of immigration, both EU and non-EU originated. It is intriguingthat the UK was the only current EU member state that did not impose any transitional
period for free movement of labour force after the 2004 ‘Big Bang’ EU enlargement,
thereby opening its labour market to the workforce from new member states: ‘In
the second half of the 2000s, net migration to the UK fluctuated between 300–400
thousand per year, reaching a peak of over 400 thousand just before the onset of the2008 financial crisis’ (Gietel-Basten 2016: 674).
The UK, as a liberal market economy which has consistently promoted this promarket vision of the EU has exposed its citizens more than most other member
states to the upheavals this process of marketization has generated (Hopkin 2017:466). Brexit, a protectionist response, can be best understood as part of what Polanyi(1944) described as a ‘double movement’: the imposition of the market logic in evermore areas of social life, followed by a protective counter-movement to subordinate
the market to political constraints.
The neoliberalisation of British society, whose beginnings can be traced to theThatcher era, has rendered divisions through UK society along lines of age, education,
regional affiliation, and sectors of economic activity. The New Labour governmentsof Blair and Brown continued most of the policies from the Thatcher era, visible evenin spatial policies, such as gentrification of the parts of the cities and the deregulationof housing markets. It has also left its imprint on other aspects of social life: ‘This
counter offensive by capital and state actors, including the emasculation of progressive local and city governments and assault on trade union power (especially in the
USA and the UK), allied to the flight of capital away from the industrial cities of
the north to low wage locations elsewhere, represented a response to an upsurge inclass politics’ (Harvey 2005). The results of the divisions are visible in the results ofthe vote on Brexit. The groups that supported Brexit the most were the elderly, bluecollar working or retired people, mostly living in Northern and Central England, andcompletely untouched (except in the negative context) by the financialization andglobalization of Southern England–London and the City particularly: ‘Britain’s Gini
coefficient, the measure of its inequality, has risen from about 0.26 in 1979 to over
0.4 today. It has divided Britain geographically into a prosperous London and South
East, an especially depressed North with its deindustrialized run-down cities, and amildly more social democratic Scotland able to avoid some of the worst of the social
breakdown visited on the north of England, with the rest of the country performing
indifferently’ (Desai and Freeman 2016: 15).
Hopkin also warns that ‘nationalism is not the only possible expression of social
anxiety at the upheavals wrought by inadequately regulated markets, and the Brexit
vote was preceded by dramatic changes in the Labour Party with the election of
Jeremy Corbyn, who has articulated anti-market and anti-austerity sentiments on theleft. His lukewarm endorsement of the Remain campaign showed that Euroscepticism
was not confined to the nationalist right’ (Hopkin 2017: 466).

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The protection of the National Health (NHS) system and the implied promisethat 350 million pounds per week could be injected into the NHS instead of being
sent to ‘Brussels’, along with anti-immigration fears were probably decisive among
the elderly and mature, blue-collar population of Northern and Central England, andWales: ‘Remarkable to many outsiders, the NHS is almost a religion in the UK;
its ‘overstretching’—especially by foreigners—presented as a blasphemy’ (GietelBasten 2016: 678). Such a claim was disavowed by Prime Minister David Cameron’s
successor the current British Prime Minister, Theresa May, although she neverpromised it. Nevertheless, her foreign secretary Boris Johnson, who was part of the
Leave campaign, was very happy to make reassurances that a ‘hard Brexit’ would
be in the offing.
As Clarke and Newman have outlined, the Vote Leave Campaign emphasized
themes of betrayal and alienation stemming from three groups:• The metropolitan–cosmopolitan liberal elite (out of touch Europhiles, the architects of political correctness, insulated by wealth and social position from theeffects of Europeanization);• The European elite (embodied in German Chancellor Merkel but more frequently
invoked as the Brussels bureaucrats strangling British liberty);• The migrants, enabled by Europe’s free movement rules and consuming scarce
resources (jobs, housing, welfare, and other public services)” (Clarke andNewman 2017: 107).

4 Why Trump?
The groups in British society, which felt they were left behind by the globalization,
financialization, the City, and Brussels, made ‘their voice heard’. Such themes wererepeated in the 2016 US presidential election. The key for winning the support inthe ‘battleground states’ was speaking as the voice of the same forgotten, bluecollar workers, whose relative position in society was declining. Like the Brexiteers,
Trump correctly identified the grievance of the white, mostly blue-collar majority inthe battleground states of the US Great Lakes Region (Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin,
Minnesota and Pennsylvania) as well as Florida, where the anti(Latino)-immigrantviews he constantly expressed during the campaign found fertile ground. Although
Trump did not win in Minnesota, victories in all the other battleground states brought
him the presidency (Kokotovic and Kurecic 2017).
The Trump and Leave campaigns conformed to Kazin’s (1995) description of
populism: ‘a language whose speakers conceive of ordinary people as a noble assemblage not bounded narrowly by class; view their elite opponents as self-serving andundemocratic; and seek to mobilize the former against the latter’ (Wilson 2017: 544).
Many blue-collar, middle-class voters cared little about plutocracy and financial
capitalism running through the US main parties, as well as reactions of the othergroups in the demos, such as Occupy Wall Street, which they certainly did notsupport. However, the message of the Republican candidate Trump and his anti-free5 Brexit and Trump: Genuine Anti-Globalization Revolution …

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trade, job losing, anti-immigrant stance was one they could understand (Walley 2017:232). The reaction of the demos potentially represented a setback for neoliberalism
and transnational capitalist class. Nevertheless, as will be discussed later, it is difficult
to imagine any improvements in workers’ rights, especially for blue-collar, middleand low-paid workers, who are exactly those who elected Mr Trump to the WhiteHouse. This has been compounded by the absence of a clear, strong economic agenda
from the Democrats, despite the Obama Administration’s efforts to pull the US
economy out of the worst recession in over 70 years. This narrative was lacking in the
campaign, replaced by conspicuous targets of economic culpability (the neoliberalsystem) across the electorate. Hillary Clinton, by virtue of that, did poorly in crucial
battleground states in 2016, effectively breaching her ‘firewall’ in the US North-east(Wu 2016). Trump’s vigorous messages against the free-trade and illegal immigration
resonated and offered possibilities for a genuine change. The message behind thesenarratives is further explored in the next section.

5 Populist ‘Revolutionary’ Narratives
The rhetoric in the 2016 campaigns that characterized Brexit and the ascendancy of
Donald Trump in the USA, critiqued and challenged the liberal free market assumptions that have girded the global economy. What such challenges also incorporated
was an Occupy Wall Street narrative retooled and refurbished for the offensive
against the neoliberal establishment: that the system’s very notions needed challenging. According to Brent Budowsky, former aide to former Sen. Lloyd Bentsen
and former Chief Deputy Majority Whip Bill Alexander, the 2016 campaign saw aseries of vectors operating in the electoral scape, dramatically challenging orthodox
party structures. ‘There is a direct lineage between the Occupy Wall Street movement, the enormous and historic contribution that Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) madein the 2016 presidential campaign, and what some call the progressive Tea Party
movement that, along with other Americans, has besieged Republican officeholders
at town meetings across America’ (Budowsky 2017).
As with the challenge posed by the forces of the Left and Right in Europe during
the 1930s in the form of communism and fascism, social discontent was mobilized asa response to the symptoms of the system (unstable capitalism). Totalitarian fascism,however, won out, entailing, a refusal on the part of the power holders to alter
the nature of social relations and processes of capital itself. George Orwell andWalter Benjamin had, at stages, observed that fascism’s very premise is not merely
its strongman, cult obsession, with the State rendered organic and reactionary: it
relied upon the very fact that capitalism would only be tempered in a limited way.
Economic relations, in other words, would remain conservative. Benjamin would goeven further, insisting that fascism was revolutionary in one fundamental sense: its
association with aesthetics (Benjamin 1974).
The role played by Bernie Sanders, and piecemeal efforts to incorporate his agenda
into Trump’s platform demonstrated the appeal posed by the other side of the divide.

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In the UK, the same could be said with Jeremy Corbyn and the re-emergence of traditional labour values, emphasising greater state intervention in the economy and deficit
spending. The Canadian newspaper tycoon Conrad Black, persistently defending thenature of capitalism, suggested that these movements were unmistakably the resultof poor leadership. ‘Though many do not formulate it in this way, the rise of Trump
and the Sanders challenge shows that the heavy failings of the Bush-Clinton-Obama
joint regency will not be accepted’ (Black 2016: 44). What mattered was that suchcandidates as Sanders and Trump had a common target, at least till Sanders fell outof the race and reneged on much of what he had said. (This point, it is argued here,
is a salient one in suggesting change as ‘no-change’.)Clinton loomed as the establishment figure, near totemic in terms of target andobject of obloquy. Ironically, while Trump had been very much the ‘nasty’ capitalist in his casino and property ventures that Clinton portrayed him as being, theformer First Lady and Secretary of State became a supreme alibi about the ills ofinternational capitalism. The release of the Podesta emails and those of the Democratic National Committee by WikiLeaks showed Clinton to be soft on reforming
the banking sector after the 2008 Global Financial Crisis. Despite the deep ironies
of a property tycoon casting aspersions against the Democrat candidate for being
accommodating to plutocrats and the banking sector, the inroads made by Trumpwere effective.

6 The Challenge of Bannonism
In the USA, the America First notion of Donald Trump unmistakably suggests a
return to a period when that particular name was also used: prior to the US entry into
World War II. The ironic reversal of the term here is that the USA, far from showing
any desire to move to a ‘normalcy’ marked by the isolationism of the inter-war years,
is simply posing for a more unilateralist pose for international action in international
markets and the geopolitics. It suggests a fear that hegemonic credentials are being
challenged. (Trump having accused the Chinese of predatory currency manipulation.)
Steve Bannon, briefly security White House advisor and the Breibart advisor
most influential in setting the tone of Trump’s campaign, would be undoubtedly
familiar with the historical appellation of ‘America First’. What matters to Bannon
and the recently departed deputy White House advisor Sebastian Gorka, is the notionthat the west is at war with Islam (Rose 2017). These forms of supposedly radical
challenges betray a conservative, rather than revolutionary perspective, the policyof Make America Great Again (MAGA). But while he insists on a return to power
politics as reality, Bannon also sports a strong anti-elite, anti-corporate perspective.
To that end, he has made it a crucial aspect of Trump’s rhetoric to target the predationsof the unelected agents of boardroom, corporate globalisation. As Bannon explainedto The Economist, an establishment paper of economic opinion, ‘You are the enemy’.
The reason was simple enough: ‘You support a radical idea, free trade. I mean it, thatis a radical idea’ (The Economist 2017).

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The economic agenda of reordering of challenging the unaccountable globalists
also comes in step with fighting a rival religious world view, the need to reimpose
Judeo-Christian values against Islam, deemed by Bannon to be, ‘not a religion ofpeace but submission’. (Shuham 2017). ‘Yes, it was jihadi terrorism’, argued theformer Trump advisor in describing the attacks of September 11, 2001 on the USA,
‘but more importantly, that event was linked to communism. Because al-Qaeda, ISIS,
all of these groups are totalitarians—either you surrender to them or they will killyou’ (Jaffe 2017).
What America First, however, entails are a reassertion of borders (notably
against Mexico), and a sympathy for shades of authoritarianism (the sympathetic
response to Russia’s president Vladimir Putin). It also suggests assertiveness, brashness, independence, a superpower’s effort to keep the mantle against any potential
challengers.
This same hyper-nationalist rationale had similar forms across the Atlantic, though
it was configured somewhat differently. The figures who led the Brexit campaign
could hardly be said to be Bannonites from the perspective of opposing global free
trade interests or financial oligopolies. Their concern, rather, was that such tradeand market values be parochial and self-serving rather than collectively corporatist.
Dominant emphasis was placed on the social consequences of an open trade bloc: theprinciple of free movement. Critics such as Nigel Farage of the UK Independence
Party, and Boris Johnson of the Conservatives, insisted that the UK had not merely
become a place of asphyxiating migration typified by traffic jams and high crime
rates, but one for which the State had to compensate Europe for (Rawlinson 2014).
Never mind the fact that such mobility had, in fact, supplied much-needed labourto the UK economy at unprecedented levels, be it in low-skill jobs, to those in the
research and tertiary sector.

7 Avoiding Revolution and Change
The very fact that Brexit is being steered by a former Remain figure, Theresa May,
says much about the central point that promised changes have been more superficial
than not. A system is shocked in order to return to a semblance of what went before.
The capitalist status quo, however, ruffled and battered, is to be maintained. May
has made it clear that she wishes to embrace the trade and market agenda inherent
in the current system (free trade, cheaper goods and services despite being outside
the EU), while altering the social welfare and human rights aspect inherent in EU
membership. The perceived negative effects of free trade, in other words, are notgoing to be redressed, because there are, in the opinion of May’s officials, none tospeak of. Indeed, she has promised, very much in hope‚ that Britain will find newmarkets that the neoliberal agenda will continue its way.
The appointment of Boris Johnson, a key Brexiteer and the present-day sitting
Prime Minister, may well have suggested a challenge to the orthodox approaches tothe market logic of the EU, and its policies. It actually signalled the reverse. Britain

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was to become more entrepreneurial than ever, to engage, as it were, the markets in a
way that was far more aggressive than it would have otherwise been. Indeed, Johnson
insists that the system is going to be improved by Britain looking in, rather than beinga member looking out: ‘with the help of the excellent negotiators on both sides I haveno doubt that we will get a great deal that preserves and even enhances the frictionlessmovement of goods that is in the interests of both sides of the Channel; and I am
sure that will get a solution that does nothing to undermine the interests of London’s
financial sector because the real rival of the City is not in Paris or Frankfurt; they
are in Hong Kong and New York and Singapore—and in the end I think everyone
understands that London is an asset for the entire continent’ (Johnson 2017).
Much in the way of Britannia unchained, if not reclaimed, opportunities supposedly await, according to the Brexit managers, in the form of agreements in Asia,
Africa and Australasia. These do not suggest a revolution in the global capitalist
system as its advancement, its logical progress by being rid of intrusive regulatory
frameworks. Countries of the Commonwealth will be wooed. In a Raisina Dialogue
event held in January 2017, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson insisted that the UKIndia relationship would be conducive to a free trade agreement, suggesting that
Brexit had little to do with a parochial dispirited backlash against the effects of globalisation. On the contrary, he is insisting on encouraging it. The relationship with
India, amongst other countries, needed to be ‘turbocharged’.
In the USA, Sanders promised a revolution, only to succumb to the Clinton
machine in the way that previous candidates had done (Ted Kennedy in 1980; Jesse
Jackson in 1984 and 1988; Dennis Kucinich in 2004 and John Edwards in 2008).
That reality became a bitter one: democratic socialism would be, if not dismissed
altogether, then nipped, trimmed, and packaged for electoral advantage. ‘The agendaof the Democratic Party’, as Barry notes with conviction, ‘is determined by its corporate financiers’ (Finger 2016). There was little chance of breaking with the elephant,
the ass or the working class, and Jason Schulman wished that genuine Marxists stepoutside Democratic Party politics to establish its own party (Schulman 2016: 12). It is
certainly true that Sanders managed to sanitise such terms as ‘socialist’ and socialism
providing US socialists ‘an opening’, as Schulman terms it, not available previously(Schulman 2016: 10). And to take advantage of the Democratic primary system tocapitalise in creating the conditions for a separate political party, in appearance,
seemed to be gathering pace. But it was simply not to be. That said, common ground
was identified with the Trump campaign. ‘On this one central issue—Bernie Sanders
and Donald Trump have a surprisingly similar message: The American economy has
failed’ (Zakaria 2016: 14).
He also played to the image of public relations magic, retaining a Revolution
Message to craft his image, attempting to draw out a voter base with a smaller donations message that might decorporatize funding interests in favour of more “working
class” sources and small donors. The language of his campaign team suggested thepossibility that a revolution had in fact begun, though in many ways it seemed toparticipate, mimic if not ape the very same defects of the system he wished to alter.
Consider the remarks of Zack Exley of the Sanders campaign: ‘The campaign ischanging people’s lives and changing everyone’s idea of what’s possible. No matter5 Brexit and Trump: Genuine Anti-Globalization Revolution …

85

what happens, people are going to keep fighting for the political revolution that Bernie
helped us start’. For Exley, the fire, once started, would burn. How it would do so,amidst the ‘organizing teams, structures, and processes’ was less clear (Capehart2016).
After the bruising primaries, and Clinton’s successful nomination, Sanders
responded with the Our Revolution movement, suggesting during its launch to an
audience in Burlington that the centre of US politics had moved to the left, and ‘sevenkey ballot initiatives’ along with ‘over a hundred candidates’ could be backed. Noneof this could conceal an internal revolt by such figures as Tim Canova, a congressional challenger with Sanders’ backing, who suggested prior to the launch that
he had been left high and dry (Weigel and Wagner 2016). Eight of the initial 15
organisers of Our Revolution departed before the launch, citing the arrival of former
campaign manager Jack Weaver as the last nail in the revolutionary coffin. Anotherrevolution and attempt at reform risked being stymied.
The repeated conversations about revolution eventually become matters of absorption into the establishment structure, tempering, if not subjugating the indignationthat was initially meant to inspire it. As Capehart (2016) suggested, ‘those fired-up
folks go home—and stay there for the next four years’. Scholarship by Steve Phillip,
utilizing material from the Office of the Clerk of the US House of Representatives,shows the pattern of euphoria, apathy and disillusionment, examining Democrat
ballots from their initial highpoints of enthusiastic casting to a significantly reduced
turn-up by the next election. In 2008, 65 million Democrats cast ballots for House
candidates, a number that shrank dramatically in the 2010 mid-term elections (39million). Republicans capitalised, and the Tea Party made its own tilt at revolutionary
fervour. In 2014, the Democrat voters who turned up to vote for the Senate in the
mid-term elections had fallen by 43%: down by 15 million (Phillip 2016).

8 The Year 1848 as a Parallel
In the context of revolutions that fail, or are, in part, tempered by the establishment,
one historical parallel is useful. The populist revolutions taking place in 2016 within
the western democratic context were to have a parallel result to those of 1848—an attempt initially is undertaken to alter a system, only to see a re-imposition ofabsolutism and reactionary, monarchical conservatism. Instead of getting regimesof true accountability and constitutionalism, uprisings were put down, and the fireof reform snuffed. This traditional view, and one that still has some currency, wasadvanced by Karl Marx himself (Marx 1973).
The response of force was unmistakable: Louis-Eugène Cavaignac’s efforts
against insurgents in June 1848 signalled the mood. Alfred, prince von Windischgrätz, obliged with similar actions in Prague on June 17 that year. Russian intervention took place in Hungary, while Lombardy and Vienna saw Austrian militaryefforts to reverse the order. Liberals were left dispirited and demoralised, though it
should be noted that certain countries (Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands) did see

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a reform of institutions without bloodshed. But Italy, Germany, and Austria saw areturn of absolute monarchy, a point backed by a clergy and middle class suspicious
about the excesses of reformist fervour. What mattered was the striking abandonment of concessions that had been promised in the wake of the 1848 revolutions.
The Convention of Olmütz in 1850 saw a reactionary counter: the withdrawal ofconcessions linked to crucial liberties, including universal manhood suffrage, press
liberties and freedom of assembly.
The promise of reform, in other words, became not just a stifling but a reversal, aconsolidation of state power in the face of change, usually buttressed by the support
of a threatened middle class and the fears of the clerical authorities. The spectre ofsocialism was haunting enough to warrant the restoration of monarchical systems ofgovernment, a point the traditionalists had some reason fearing: Marx and Engels
had, in distinction to their socialist colleagues, insisted on the destruction of monarchical absolutism as an essential pre-requisite to realising their vision of proletarian
bliss. Sperber makes the salient point that the authors in The Communist Manifesto(1847) go even further in insisting that a socioeconomic socialist order would require
stringent political revolution and a Jacobin republic (Sperber 2005: 86). The danger
to the traditionalists was all too real.
While it would be inaccurate to dismiss the efforts of 1848 as entirely fruitless(legacies exist in their honour across the continent), the European revolutions provide
an ample international example of a counter-movement that becomes absorbed by thepromise of change for populist causes. The revolution is tamed; its more revolutionary
promises are hemmed in and curtailed. But it also shows another more direct response:
heavy-handed, fearful, and directed by the organs of police and military.
The changes promised in the context of Trump and Sanders in the USA; and by
the populist upsurge in Britain, also had a focus on liberties, though there, the focus
was regenerative: to attack the plutocracy, the corporatocracy, the nastiness of theestablishment swamp that needs draining. Hillary Clinton became the greatest target
in the approaches of both candidates.
In Britain, it was the restoration of liberties, an idiosyncratic notion when considered alongside the fact that the Human Rights Act was a derivation of both UK andEuropean legal principles. Trump spoke about the restoration of rights and security of US citizens fearful of immigration, a theme similar echoed in the campaignof Nigel Farage in the UK. Promises on deportation (both in the UK and in theUSA) and the construction of a vast wall preventing porous movements through the
Mexican–US border, were also made, while UKIP issued flyers and leaflets throughthe constituency depicting hordes coming through with menace from Turkey in theevent that it might be admitted to the EU. In Britain’s case, there would be promisedchange (May’s idea of Brexit entailed the colours of the Union Jack, a patriotic
varnish), but the content of this is unclear, with a stance so vague as to be infuriating to the voter base. Electoral losses suffered in the 2017 British election alsosuggest that voters were far from convinced that the prime minister would be a figure
for genuine radical change. This feeling was also replicated by EU Representatives
unconvinced and confused in equal parts about the Brexit negotiating strategy of
May and her team.

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87

The more belligerent Trump may well have spoken about draining the swampof Washington corruption, but such a metaphor does little to actually remove thewater altogether. What merely happens in this context is populating the swamp with
one’s favoured confidantes, be they friends or family advisors. The Trump family has
exposed the capitalist system in such spectacular fashion, going so far as to admit thatthe presidency is not inconsistent with the promotion of personal wealth creation.
His very election shows that a billionaire with business interests can still become aservant of the people. To that end, the system does not so much improve as reveal
itself as disfigured, defeating the democratic project.
In another sense, Trump has so far not succeeded. Mirage, image, and perception
have given the impression that change is occurring, ‘reform’ taking place. Promoting
himself as the anti-establishment figure keen on altering the landscape of immigration, imposing restrictions from Muslim majority countries, he has been a failed
reformer. His attempts at deportation have failed to manifest in a genuinely effective way. Internal resistance in the USA, notably from some states and the effortsof sanctuary cities, have made efforts difficult. Another important feature to note isthat deportations were already at a high level in the last few years of the Obamaadministration suggesting that Trump had done little to realise his supposedly moremuscular response.

9 Conclusions
These three years have seen challenges to the international capitalist system thatsuggested a challenge to its very basis. They have taken place in countries at the forefront of the globalizing, neoliberal narrative of open market and minimal government
interference. But Brexit and the era of Trump suggest that such processes depoliticize citizen participation, using citizen rage to convey a false sense of reform. The
emergence of such figures as Trump, Sanders and Corbyn posed a return of relevant politics, a form of ‘forgotten people’ discourse at times powerful and relentless.
But Trump’s victory in the USA, and the Brexit ascendency in Britain, point to an
absence of genuine radical change in the way the State relates to the international
capitalist system. Indeed, there is a suggestion that the free market should be, if
one is to take the perspective of the May government, encouraged further. Across thechannel, the post-democratic illusion has incarnated itself in the Macron government,
which has more or less surrendered to the idea that to succeed and prosper, France
must not so much disentangle itself from the European system and entangle itself
further, embracing a more aggressive market-based agenda. French firms are to be
encouraged in their competitiveness; an inflexible French labour market is waiting
to be reformed in terms of work hours and an inflexible hire-and-fire scheme (Maher
2017). The idea, reminiscent of ideological defences of communism, was not theideology itself, but its imperfect application. His case against the US president is
simple: we are not to make the US great again, but the World great. We still await a
new consensus, and most certainly, the new Keynes of Rodrik’s consideration. But

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antagonism and civic debate, the sort that interrogates liberal democratic institutional
behaviour, has returned.

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Black, C. (2016). Political vacancies. New Criterion, (Sept.), pp. 36–44.
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Capehart, J. (2016). Democrats are not good at the political revolution thing. Washington Post, 12
April.
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February.
Johnson, B. (2017). The 2017 Lowy Lecture. Sydney Town Hall, [online] 27 July. Retrieved July24, 2018, from https://www.lowyinstitute.org/publications/2017-lowy-lecture-uk-foreign-secretary-boris-johnson.
Kazin, M. (1995). The populist persuasion: An American history. New York: Basic Books.
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Kurecic, P. (2016). Social movements and neoliberal geopolitics. Revista ORBE, 1(7), 14–20.
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Phillip, S. (2016). Brown is the New White: How the demographic revolution has created a new
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theresa-admits-350-million-pledged-10124021.

Binoy Kampmark was a Commonwealth Scholar at Selwyn College, Cambridge. He is a SeniorLecturer at RMIT University, Melbourne and is a contributing editor to Counterpunch Magazine.
He is also an associate of the Nautilus Institute of Security and Sustainability (San Francisco) anda member of the human securities program at Royal Roads University, Canada. Email: bkampmark@gmail.com.
Petar Kurečić Associate Professor of Political Science and Geography at the University North,
Croatia. He has studied geography and political science at the University of Zagreb, Croatia, andholds MA and Ph.D. titles in geography. Dr. Kurečić is the author of one book and the author or
co-author of 20 WoS/Scopus/CC papers in indexed journals, 22 WoS indexed conference papers
and numerous other papers. His research interests are small state and small economy problematic,
multipolarity, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), security aspects of migration, and challenges to the European integration in the Western Balkans and in Wider Europe. He currently
coordinates the work of the international research group “Small States in the Multi-Polar World”.
Dr. Kurečić received several international mobility grants (DAAD, ERASMUS+, CEEPUS) andis currently coordinating Jean Monnet Module: 599,900-EPP-1-2018-1-h-EPPJMO-MODULE,
Internal Market and Migration as Catalysts for Regional Integration in SEE.

Part II

Post Brexit and European Integration

Chapter 6

Post-Brexit European Integration
Bruno Dallago and Steven Rosefielde

Abstract This article clarifies the challenge posed by Brexit for post-Brexit European integration. The principal finding is that Brexit is apt to be less disruptive thaninitially supposed because the EU has the ability to respond constructively filling
gaps in its institutional setup that reduces the system’s vulnerability to asymmetricshocks.
JEL classification E02 · E52 · E61 · F36 · H63 · H77 · O52 · P11 · P17

1 Introduction
Five years ago, British Prime Minister David Cameron’s decision to submit the
UK’s EU membership to a referendum jolted the EU. This occurred despite theUK having secured favorable terms for remaining in the EU (EUCO 2016), during
reportedly harsh secret negotiations that ended in February 2016. The British prime
minister decided to go ahead anyway with the referendum to strengthen his position
within the conservative party because opinion polls projected that Brexit would be
rejected. The referendum took place on June 23, 2016. To many people’s surprise, themajority voted in favor of Brexit. Cameron’s government chose to resign, even though
the referendum was consultative. The new Prime Minister Theresa May embraced
Brexit, adopting the position that “Brexit means Brexit!” Britain, she asserted would
not renegotiate the marriage contract. It would divorce. May formalized her intention
in a letter to the president of the European Council, Donald Tusk, triggering Article
50 of the Treaty on the European Union (TEU) on March 29, 2017.
After a prolonged deadlock in the British government and parliament, a new
British government led by Prime Minister Boris Johnson entered office after early
B. Dallago
Department of Economics and Management, University of Trento, Trento, Italye-mail: bruno.dallago@unitn.it
S. Rosefielde (B)Department of Economics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, USAe-mail: stevenr@unc.edu© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
K. Haba and M. Holland (eds.), Brexit and After,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-7969-1_6

93

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B. Dallago and S. Rosefielde

general election on 12 December 2019.1 Following Johnson’s promise during theelectoral campaign to proceed swiftly toward Brexit,2 Great Britain withdrew fromthe European Union on 31 January 2020. This began a transition period that is set to
end on 31 December 2020, during which the UK and EU will negotiate their future
relationship. The UK remains subject to EU law and continues to be part of the
EU customs union and single market during the transition, but is no longer part of
the EU’s political bodies or institutions. No British commissioner sits in the current
European Commission nor do representatives of the British government participate
in common meetings, such as the meetings of the European Council. Starting on
1 February 2020 the number and distribution of seats in the European Parliamentchanged following the UK withdrawal. Seats were decreased from 751 to 705 seats;
the difference being kept in reserve for future possible enlargements. Of the 73 UK
seats, 27 were redistributed to other member countries.
During the Covid-19 crisis, this transitory situation became contentious, since
the UK had a shifting position on being part of the EU joint procurement
system of anti-virus medical equipment (https://www.politico.eu/article/corona
virus-who-said-what-on-uk-nonparticipation-in-eu-procurement/), while adhering
to EU rulings on national financial support to fight the crisis consequences (https://
ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_20_603).
Although EU–UK negotiations on post-Brexit settlements and agreements
continue, the post-Brexit European Union now has an opportunity to create a fully
integrated Eurozone and deal with open problems posed by the single market,
including troublesome labor migration problems.

2 Starting Brexit, a Junior Black Swan
There are three reasons why the British Government chose to withdraw from theEuropean Union. First, the majority of British voters may have believed that theirwellbeing (including economic externalities associated with local control) would beenhanced by leaving the EU; that is, they thought that gains in liberty would outweighlosses in income. They felt that an independent UK would expand its opportunities,
accepting Brexit’s short-run costs for conjectured long-term benefits.
Second, the UK and continental Europe are only weakly compatible. Theireconomies are moderately integrated compared to the case of the other member
countries. The UK is a typical liberal market economy (Anglo-Saxon economy)
which features distinct characteristics that make institutional and policy cohabitation difficult as the Varieties of Capitalism (VoC) approach maintains (Hall andSoskice 2001) and as French president Charles de Gaulle made repeatedly clear in

1 The first Johnson government took office on 24 July 2019 after May’s government resigned andremained in office until 12 December 2019, the day of the early election.
2 https://www.ft.com/content/b5be23ba-19d0-11ea-97df-cc63de1d73f4.

6 Post-Brexit European Integration95

the early 1960s when opposing UK membership in the European Economic Community (EEC) (https://www.france24.com/en/20191013-did-charles-de-gaulle-foreseebrexit). Indeed, much of the process of EU integration has been institutional and the
EU setup turned out to be an uncomfortable fit for the UK. Albion was strong andsmart enough to obtain special status within the EU, the most important of which was
its retention of the pound as its national currency. The UK also succeeded in slowing
down the integration process in selective and sensitive areas, primarily finance, fiscal
matters, international and military issues. The dominant role of the City of London ininternational finances was protected even in Eurozone finances (such as in the euroclearing market).3 UK membership consequently was both welcome and challenging
for the EU.
Third, the UK prefers an EU architecture that prioritizes a single market withnational autonomy in all fields, while the other countries prefer a greater degree ofEU coordination and control in selected fields including a single market with freelabor mobility, a common currency and convergence in fiscal behavior, although
not in taxation. The UK accepts the concept of a common market for goods, but
wants restrictions on international labor mobility. It refuses to relinquish the pound,4and objects to the increase of the EU budget, the coordination of fiscal systems andcapital market rules, even though it coordinates with the European Central Bank
(ECB). Great Britain is politically and economically important and strong. At thetime of the referendum its economy recovered better than the EU average from thecrisis, was fairly balanced, and its finances and currency global players. A majorityof British voters considered that being a member of the EU was disadvantageous andthat the UK outside of the EU would benefit from increased decision-making choiceand flexibility.
The UK’s integration in the EU is looser than any other member country (Dallago
2016a). It is only in finance where the UK has a dominant position, where Albion
desires strong integration.5 This does not include fiscal issues though, since the islandof Jersey and some of its dependent overseas territories (including the British Virgin
Islands, Bermuda and the Cayman Islands) have among the most aggressive tax
jurisdictions in the world, often to the disadvantage of other EU member countries(Cobham and Garcia-Bernardo 2020; Oxfam 2016). This weak relationship facilitated divorce, even if it proves to be costly. There are mitigating externalities onboth sides. Divorce offers the EU a chance to resume the process of integration in
critical issues, such as capital market and fiscal rules, regain control over the euroclearing market, strengthen its hand with Hungary and Poland, and discourage other3 According to the Financial Times, the City of London processes up to three-quarters of global

euro denominated derivatives, clearing a notional e850 bn a day (Brunsden and Barker 2017). The
financial sector produces some 10% of the British GDP.
4 The UK secured an opt-out from adopting the euro during the negotiations for the Maastricht
Treaty in 1992.
5 There are also some industrial branches in which the EU market plays an outstanding role for the
UK. This is so in particular in the case of foreign investments in the automotive industry, whose
production is largely exported to continental EU countries.

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dissidents from emulating the UK’s example. Brexit is likely to enhance European
integration, if properly managed.

3 Questions and Facts
Let us review the fundamentals. The core problem for the EU has been thatconverging fiscal parameters, particularly in an incomplete monetary union, havecaused widening inter-union inequality, exacerbating fault lines among member
economies (Dallago 2016b). The economic fault between Northern countries andSouthern countries continues to be significant, and political fault lines are deepening
too between older member countries and the four Visegrád countries (Poland, theCzech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary). These fault lines were invisible until theinternational crisis, thanks to the internal flow of private resources from financiallystrong countries to some of the unbalanced countries. The asymmetric financial
shock of the crisis, austerity policies and internal devaluation forced upon distressed
member countries in order to fix their fiscal and financial imbalances, caused areversal of financial flows and put financial and political pressure on them. Theirdistance from the Union’s resilient core increased rapidly. The adverse distancing
was particularly evident in the case of Greece, but remarkable also in other Southern
European countries and Ireland.
The UK sidestepped the problem thanks to its monetary and fiscal sovereignty
by fighting the global financial crisis of 2008 with expansionary monetary and fiscal
policy. Its economy swiftly recovered, while continental economies, in particularin the South of the continent, languished. However, things changed following thereferendum and since then the UK economy languished compared to the EU average(Chart 1).
The UK relations to the EU were traditionally complex (Gowland 2016). The
country adopted an opportunistic policy approach to the EU from the beginning. It
was interested in the unified market and in syphoning continental financial resources
and activities to strengthen the role of the City of London as a world financial center.
Moreover, it also had the expertise and structures to succeed. The UK was alsointerested in attracting foreign investment to develop its manufacturing industry
while exporting its production to the continent. Overall, the strategy was successful,
aided by its close alliance to the United States and its first-class role in globalization.
In the process, the UK obstructed changes in the European integration that might
diminish its benefits. The UK opposed progress towards unified financial and capital
markets, and fiscal unification. It obtained favorable institutional treatment, mostimportantly the euro opt-out. The UK was a privileged insider from the beginning, aposition underscored by Brexit.
The EU had a clear interest in having the UK as a member country. The political,
geostrategic and military role of the UK buttressed by its close relationship with
the USA was important. The EU hoped that British membership would give it abroader political dimension beyond the Union’s economic core that it found difficult

6 Post-Brexit European Integration

EU-27

97

Euro area (variable)

UK

112
110

yEU-27 = 0,5632x + 100,37
R² = 0,9801

108
106
104

yUK = 0,3978x + 100,66
R² = 0,9875

102
100

Chart 1 Quarterly GDP at market prices, percentage change over previous period (2005 = 100)
(Chain linked volumes (2015 = 100), seasonally and calendar adjusted data. EZ variable includes
the actual member countries of the Eurozone in each relevant quarter). Source Own elaboration on
Eurostat databaseto accomplish on its own. Similarly, it was hoped that UK membership would support
the development of a strong and sophisticated European financial sector, which inturn would strengthen EU’s international role and support the common currency andits role as an international currency. These hopes were largely unfulfilled. The EU’s
acceptance of Brexit reflects the disappointment. The UK’s departure is no longer
viewed as a tragedy. It is more a hindrance that has to be fixed swiftly and may haveimportant potential advantages.

4 Brexit and the Economy
Brexit is a reality since 31 January 2020. All the involved parties, the UK and theEU, and their deputed organs had approved the deal and the decision entered into
force. Yet the particulars remained to be settled: a host of agreements have still to
be worked out, let alone agreed on. The future will depend on the type of relations
the two parties will agree on, perhaps in 2020. The alternatives are (1) a full UK
participation in the single European market with conditions and (2) no deal, whichmeans governing bilateral trade relations with WTO rules. At the time of writing(April 2020), the decision is in limbo due to the health pandemic.
In the interim, Great Britain has to follow EU rules, including paying a fee forthe financial settlement foreseen in the Withdrawal Agreement, and get permissions
in case of extraordinary policy measures such as those needed to fight the economic
consequences of Covid-19. In exchange, the UK continues to enjoy EU support—
although it is a net contributor to the EU budget. Hard times occasioned by Brexit
itself have complicated smooth transitions in trade and labor relations, and allow theUnited States to fish in troubled waters. The Covid-19 pandemic which hit the UK

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B. Dallago and S. Rosefielde

and various EU member countries hard is exacerbating the situation. The pandemic
slowed down the ongoing EU–UK negotiations and added uncertainty to an alreadyblurred future. Economic forecasts are worsening, and financial strain is growing(Chart 2 and Table 1).
Ameliorating these difficulties requires progress on two fronts: fast and positive
conclusion of bilateral negotiations and a new perspective for the European integration in the direction of an explicit and orderly multispeed, multitrack, multilevel(MSTL) union.
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0

2019
2020
2021

Chart 2 OECD interim economic outlook forecasts, 2 March 2020, real GDP growth, year-on-year% change. Source Own elaboration based on OECD interim economic assessment, Coronavirus:
The world economy at risk, 2 March 2020, p. 2 (https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/economics/oecd-eco
nomic-outlook/volume-2019/issue-2_7969896b-en)

Table 1 Real GDP growth in selected areas (percent change)
2018

2019

2020

2021

Projections(April 2020)

2020

2021

Deviations (from January 2020)

World

3, 6

2, 9

−3, 0

5, 8

−6, 3

2, 4

European Union

2, 3

1, 7

−7, 1

4, 8

−8, 7

3, 2
3, 3

Euro area

1, 9

1, 2

−7, 5

4, 7

−8, 8

UK

1, 3

1, 4

−6, 5

4, 0

−7, 9

2, 5

Japan

0, 3

0, 7

−5, 2

3, 0

−5, 9

2, 5

USA

2, 9

2, 3

−5, 9

4, 7

−7, 9

3, 0

China

6, 7

6, 1

1, 2

9, 2

−4, 8

3, 4

Russia

2, 5

1, 3

−5, 5

3, 5

−7, 4

1, 5

Source Elaboration on data from IMF, World Economic Outlook, April 2020, p. 15 (https://www.
imf.org/external/np/g20/pdf/2020/041520.pdf)

6 Post-Brexit European Integration

99

5 The Fading of the Original EU Project and the UK
The process of European integration started with a small group of six countries primarily to reestablish and strengthen peace and democracy in war-torn
Europe. With time priority moved from production and trade integration for deterring armed conflicts to reduce transaction costs and strengthen scale and scope
economies for improving enterprise competitiveness and increasing market size. All
this also served to make the integrated economy more resilient to crises and improve
Europe’s standing in international markets. The monetary union subsequently sought
additional micro and macroeconomic management efficiencies.
This initial unitary vision and strategy, however politically ambitious, were technically feasible since member countries were in similar situations. The post-war
reconstruction period, rapidly growing openness of economies in a globalizing international context and strong willingness to cooperate created opportunities for rapid
growth free of major negative shocks. The original unitary vision led to the single
market and the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). It yielded high initial dividends by focusing on Pareto superior common market building, allowing everyone
to gain without compelling any member to lose. Widened rational utilitarian choice
outweighed conflicts over monetary and fiscal policy and social values. There were
two major events that jeopardized this harmonious progress: membership of GreatBritain on 1 January 1973 and the financial crisis of 2008.
The UK membership introduced a previously unknown institutional and policy
diversity in the Union. Great Britain has an Anglo-Saxon or liberal market system,from which important institutional and policy idiosyncrasies follow, and an internationally and militarily powerful country. Great Britain was a critically important member since the beginning, quite aware of its own strength and interests anddetermined to push them through within the EU. The exceptional nature of the UK
membership appeared soon.
A first referendum on the UK membership was held as soon as 5 June 1975 whichobtained two-thirds support to continuing membership. In 1979, the UK opted out of
the newly established European Monetary System (EMS), the first fundamental step
toward the common currency. However, in 1985, the UK ratified the Single European
Act (SEA) which created, among others, the single market and in October 1990
joined the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM) which pegged European
currencies to cross-parities. UK membership in ERM lasted until September 1992
when international speculation against the overvalued pound compelled the country
to leave ERM and refuse to reenter afterward. During the concomitant negotiations
for the Maastricht Treaty, the UK successfully negotiated an opt-out that freed the
UK from the need to join the monetary union. The UK had four opt-outs overall
during its EU membership, more than any other member country. The UK thus
remained the institutionally least integrated member country until Brexit took overand played an important political role, albeit indirectly, to encourage other unruly
member countries.

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Other opt-outs jeopardized the original unitary vision. As more and more diverse
countries joined the EU, following the same track at the same speed became difficultand sometimes impossible. Opt-outs were mostly in noncore issues. Some member
countries negotiated particular opt-outs from legislation or treaties of the European
Union that in principle apply to all member countries. There are currently five opt-out
areas involving four countries: (1) Ireland and the UK relieved from implementing the
Schengen agreement; (2) permission for the UK to exclude itself from the monetary
union, while Denmark has the right to decide if and when to join the euro; (3) Poland
and the UK have partial opt-out from the Charter of Fundamental Rights of theEuropean Union; (4) Denmark, Ireland, and the UK have opt-outs on issues regarding
freedom, security and justice. To overcome the opposition of particular member
countries to progress in certain areas, possibly including a tax on international shortterm financial transaction, the EU foresees an enhanced cooperation among interested
and willing member countries.
As the Union enlarged, integration became less and less unitary and the EU became
increasingly loosely coordinated, although the core monetary union among a subsetof member countries proved to be successful and overall, consistently managed. The
financial crisis of 2008 shattered the euphoria. The game ceased being unambiguously
Pareto superior, morphing into an asymmetric power and social order game that paved
the way of the monetary union (Dallago and Rosefielde 2020; Stiglitz 2016). The
Eurozone itself is an inconsistent MSTL. Countries pursue the same goal (the same
currency with the same monetary policy and macroeconomic and fiscal equilibriumin order not to jeopardize the stability of the currency) at different speeds, throughdifferent tracks (some countries have to stabilize and others not, some grow andothers stagnate, some decrease their debt and others increase it).
The EU has chosen to distort its de facto institutions rather than engage inthe difficult revision of the treaties. Ultimate economic sovereignty still reposesin national governments, as Brexit showed, albeit with the exception of the monetary sovereignty. While joint sovereignty encourages cooperation, it disregards thegrowing disparity among and different preferences of member countries. Pressedby a prolonged economic and financial crisis and growing domestic social andpolitical pressure, aggravated by the 2020 pandemic, various countries are increasingly resisting common rules and enforcement and demanding change. An explicitly
well-ordered MSTL EU based on transparent institutions and processes would bebetter.

6 Toward a Post-Brexit MSTL Union
The founding principle of the EU is the cohabitation of supranationality in selected
fields based on the principle of subsidiarity and national coordinated sovereignty,
that is, the creation of a multitier governance regime that reserves some powers tonation states and simultaneously facilitates transnational coordination. The concept is

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compatible with strong, moderate, or weak supranational authority and can accommodate multiple degrees of participation if members desire. The core EU group(France, West Germany, Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands), signatories to the Treaty of Rome (March 1957) have long favored increasing coordinationand the gradual construction of supranationality (“more Europe”) achieved by deepening the power of common supranational institutions and holding members to strict
convergence criteria in order to ameliorate problems caused by the monetary union’s
incompleteness. The UK and some other members prefer softer central power invarying degrees including different classes of supranational participation. The debate
on the merit of these alternatives has clarified some issues but has not settled matters
because the merit of any institution depends fundamentally on its goals, not just its
architecture.
The EU project revolved around the idea of an increasingly deep integration since
its beginning and in spite of occasional difficulties. Pressure for “more Europe” andpromotion of one-track integration reached its climax with the Maastricht Treaty of
1992 and the launch of the process of monetary union. However, intraunion disagreements and divergences were ever present (Brunnermeier et al. 2016; Mody 2018).
Brexit represents the culmination of conflicts of interests and divergent views andstrategies within the process of European integration and raises the warning that the
EU should start considering and implementing a reform capable of accommodatingsuch differences in a constructive way. We contend that an orderly multispeed, multitrack, and multilevel (MSTL) order is sufficient to significantly mitigate strife andpromote better outcomes in a Union made of countries with many institutional andstructural differences and need to solve different problems (Dallago and Rosefielde2020).
Multispeed integration means that member countries go in the same direction
and pursue common goals, but do so at different speeds, as in the case of fiscal
balance. In a multitrack integration, some countries pursue more integration, others
less, as in the case of the monetary union. Multilevel integration means that member
countries pursue similar goals, but do this in different ways in accordance with theircircumstances, as in the case of reforms to comply with EU requirements. Members
may also seek objectives other partners dislike, but are willing to tolerate, as in thecase of immigration or participation in the Schengen area.
The main challenge of MSTL integration is the management of onerous macroeconomic spillovers and the danger of moral hazard that may transform win–win
into win–lose situations. The challenge may be solved by means of proper measurement, assessment and enforcement. MSTL’s primary virtue is more national freedom
combined with joint responsibility based on transparent rules and procedures. Thissolution promises superior results and political stability, thus making the EU stronger
because cooperation will be upgraded, internal conflicts softened and decisionmaking concentrated on solving the most demanding problems. The proposed solution would be akin to, but more general than an upgraded version of the existingenhanced cooperation.
The MSTL solution allows members to maximize utility without jointly optimizing wellbeing, subject to critical benevolent constraints according to a single

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Bergsonian social welfare standard (Bergson 1938, 1954, 1976). Paretian and Bergsonian metrics are identical if members have common preferences and values. If
members do not agree, some will necessarily be displeased and may try to harm others
deliberately or inadvertently by exerting de facto regulatory power and imposing
paternalistic values.

7 Brexit and the MSTL Perspective
Following the crisis and Brexit, the debate is de facto moving in the direction of
the fundamental distinction between Eurozone countries, where more coordinationis necessary and inevitable, and those countries among the others which want toremain outside. The new imperative is to reconceptualize the EU as an adaptivesocially and politically inclusive, Pareto improving satisficing project with a flexible
internal structure. While the problem is increasingly clear, a shared solution is still
distant.
The EU has taken some important steps to increase flexibility. The Euro Plus
Pact (E + P), adopted in March 2011 redefined the primary deficit to lighten thecompliance burden. The new rule excluded the zero-output gap (the gap between
current GDP and potential GDP) from the deficit calculation, a measure that implicitly favored the most indebted countries. The suspension of the Stability and Growth
Pact during the 2020 pandemic gave members additional degrees of freedom on an
emergency basis. The 2010 European Semester, a series of regularly scheduled fora
created to foster national fiscal policy coordination, structural reforms and macroeconomic imbalances discussions, based on commonly agreed treaties and standards,
serves a similar eclectic purpose. The consultation process is not joint sovereignty
and has a limited short-term perspective, but is a step in the right direction. The
key objectives of the European Semester are of ensuring sound public finances andconvergence and stability in the EU and thus preventing excessive macroeconomic
imbalances.
Following the international crisis, the EU decided in the “more Europe” spirit to
implement stronger economic governance and better policy coordination, synchronization and monitoring among member states to improve convergence, stability andother EU objectives, pushing the growth agenda into the background. The ongoingdebate on the introduction of common Recovery Bonds—apparently jointly emitted
by the European Commission and then given to member countries in need, in partas a contribution and in part as a long-term debt—and accession to the European
Stability Mechanism (ESM)—without conditionality for managing the health emergency and up to 2% of each country’s GDP—are fundamental advances that were
unimaginable before April 2020. Making fundamental progress under the push of
extreme difficulties has been a standard for the EU through its life and the present
time is perhaps not an exception. Having to deal on two difficult fronts at the sametime—Covid-19 and Brexit—is perhaps leading the EU in the right direction.

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The problem is that all these changes are ad hoc and not yet a coherent part of a
new visionary EU integration strategy. In November 2018, the European Commission
prepared an analysis of the Eurozone economy including an EU Reform Support
Programme, a European Investment Stabilization Function and a European Monetary
Fund (EC 2018). A subsequent Council of the European Union document on theEurozone (CEU 2019) and a Commission document on the 2019 European Semester(EC 2019) supplemented these initiatives without reaching an operational agreement.
Further progress has been held in abeyance until the Covid-19 problem resolves itself.
The basic principle guiding the construction of a well-ordered MSTL union isthat everything not explicitly prohibited in EU treaties should be allowed, if policies
do not create negative macroeconomic spillovers. If there are spillovers, compensation should be given according to preestablished and verifiable rules and parameters, guided with a long-term perspective. Alternatively, a joint management of thespillovers should be explicitly part of a long-term management of the common future.
If properly defined and managed, these steps could with time evolve in a true MSTL
solution. Political debate will be inevitable, but the well-ordered MSTL approach
lubricates the integration process, making it more flexible and effective.
Brexit and the health pandemic offer good examples of the method, while themanagement of the financial crisis offers a mixed perspective. In the former case, theEU was consistently capable of jointly managing a complex process. In the pandemic
case, the EU is apparently moving to partially mutualize the negative effects without
formally revising treaties. It merely invoked Article 122 of the consolidated versionof the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union stipulating that “Wherea Member State is in difficulties or is seriously threatened with severe difficulties caused by natural disasters or exceptional occurrences beyond its control, theCouncil, on a proposal from the Commission, may grant, under certain conditions,
Union financial assistance to the Member State concerned.” This is exactly an MSTL
approach in the making, waiting for consistent drafting and institutionalization.
The advantages of the orderly MSTL approach are manifold. First, each country
would be assigned a clear track, which would give transparency to the process
and facilitate compliance. Second, national preferences would be clarified speeding
conflict resolution. Third, ailing members would have more time to correct structuralproblems. Fourth, solidarity would be enhanced. In short, orderly MSTL provide
the EU and Eurozone with both sticks and carrots for promoting compliance andcooperation.

8 Conclusions
In spite of its many complexities and negative consequences for both the EU andthe UK, Brexit had the merit of warning the EU of its fading appeal and mounting
problems. The EU management of the financial crisis was costly and ineffective,
although it succeeded in keeping moral hazard at bay. Brexit confronted the EUwith the need for changing track and the political possibility to do so. The UK was

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for years a powerful and consistent opponent of fundamental reforms, such as the
fiscal and capital markets union. Without this internal opposition, it is now easier toproceed with institutional completion of the EU. Other internal opponents, deprivedof the UK key role, are now weaker, although not powerless. The Covid-19 pandemic
is apparently offering a grand opportunity to proceed.
The essence of the MSTL proposal is that, lacking a political union, the member
countries’ institutional and structural idiosyncrasies become part of a new deal ina sustainable win–win perspective. This is particularly important and urgent in theEurozone, where policy and institutionally based negative spillovers threaten financial stability, depress growth and make intercountry divergences permanent. The way
for solving such dangers is to prolong the time horizon of both the EU and member
countries and set up credible assessments, guarantees and enforcement against moral
hazard through the MSTL cooperative perspective.
Although in the long run, the MSTL perspective would gain from a revision of thetreaties, its experimentation and practical use easily fit the present treaties if longer
term and learning by doing perspectives prevail. Moving in this direction, also serves
to build trust among member countries, an essential ingredient for the success of theperspective.

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Brunnermeier, M., James, H., & Landau, J.-P. (2016). The Euro and the Battle of Ideas. Princeton:
Princeton University Press.
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Cobham, A., & Garcia-Bernardo, J. (2020). Time for the EU to close its own tax havens. Tax Justice
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Oeconomica, 66(S1), 111–136.
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The Council, The European Central Bank, The European Economic And Social Committee, The
Committee Of The Regions And The European Investment Bank 2019, Brussels, 5.6.2019 COM(2019) 500 final.
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Bruno Dallago Ph.D. is Professor of Economics at the Department of Economics and Management, University of Trento, Italy. He was visiting professor at various universities, including the
University of California at Berkeley, USA, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Hitotsubashi University, Zhejiang University, Kyoto University, University of Pécs, Tshwane University of Technology, Corvinus University of Budapest. He was the president of the European
Association for Comparative Economic Studies (1995–1996) and is a member of the International Advisory Board of the Institute of Economics of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.
His research interests include the European Union, comparative economics, the transforming
economies of Central and East Europe, SMEs and entrepreneurship, local development. He is theauthor and editor of several scholarly books and journal articles.
Steven Rosefielde is Professor of Economics at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
He received his Ph.D. in Economics from the Harvard University and is a member of the Russian
Academy of Natural Sciences (RAEN). He has taught in Russia, China, Japan and Thailand.
His most recent publications include the following: S. Rosefielde, Democracy and Its Elected
Enemies: The West’s Paralysis, Crisis and Decline (Cambridge University Press, 2013); S. Rosefielde and R. W. Pfouts, Inclusive Economic Theory (World Scientific Publishers, 2014); S. Rosefielde and Q. Mills, Global Economic Turmoil and the Public Good (World Scientific Publishers,2015); S. Rosefielde and B. Dallago, Transformation and Crisis in Central and Eastern Europe:
Challenges and Prospects (Routledge, 2016); S. Rosefielde, Kremlin Strikes Back: Russia and theWest after Crimea’s Annexation (Cambridge University Press, 2017); S. Rosefielde and Q. Mills,
The Trump Phenomenon and Future of US Foreign Policy (World Scientific Publishers, 2016); S.
Rosefielde, Trump’s Populist America (World Scientific Publishers, 2017); S. Rosefielde and J.
Leightner, China’s Market Communism: Challenges, Dilemmas, Solutions (Routledge, 2017); S.
Rosefielde and Q. Mills, Populists and Progressives: The New Forces in American Politics (World
Scientific Publishers, 2020); S. Rosefielde, ed, Putin’s Russia: Economy, Defense and Foreign
Policy (World Scientific Publishers, 2020).

Chapter 7‘Brexit Fissures’: Party Politics
and Territorial Politics Post-2017
Stephen Day

John Major (2016) ‘The plain uncomfortable truth is that theunity of the UK itself is on the ballot paper in two weeks’ time’.
Robert Tombs (2017) ‘Brexit was a vote of confidence in ourability to shape our future as an independent democratic nation…’.

Abstract Brexit has proved to have been one of the most disruptive and tumultuous political events in contemporary UK politics. Whether it unleashes the sort of‘buccaneering spirits’ envisioned by its most passionate supporters, or leaves the UK
languishing as an island in decline remains to be seen. The journey, to date, however,has brought with it what can best be described as a series of ‘Brexit induced fissures’vis-à-vis the UK’s political architecture. The goal of this chapter is to highlight how
those fissures have played out/are playing out in two specific domains:(1) The arena of party politics and the party system between 2017 and 2019 – aperiod when parliamentary politics looked to have reached total gridlock, butwhich culminated in a dramatic electoral victory for the governing Conservative
Party.
(2) The on-going push–pull struggle over the territorial integrity of the UK where
talk of a second Scottish independence referendum and a ‘border poll’ inNorthern Ireland continues to gain momentum.

On June 23, 2016 UK voters decided by a margin of 51.9% to 48.1 to support thetermination of the UK’s membership of the European Union.1 Three and a half
1 This chapter is not intended to be a comprehensive overview of the Brexit-saga. Its goal is more

limited. I wish to make some general observations about a few key issues of this on-going story.
This inevitably means sometimes simplifying complex and contentious issues as well as making
large jumps in terms of the story’s timeline.
S. Day (B)Oita University, Oita, Japane-mail: srday@oita-u.ac.jp© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
K. Haba and M. Holland (eds.), Brexit and After,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-7969-1_7

107

108

S. Dayyears later, on 31 January 2020, the UK formally left the political institutions of the
EU. At the time of writing, talks on the future relationship between the two sides
remain on-going and it is unclear whether or not a deal can be reached before the UK
government’s self-imposed deadline of October 15, 2020. What is unambiguous isthat the transition period that has enabled the UK economy to continue operating aspart of the EU’s single market, ends on December 31, 2020. While the referendum
question offered a straightforward choice between ‘Leave’ and ‘Remain’, the ongoing process of actualizing that choice generated/exacerbated a series of dramatic
fissures across the political and territorial architecture of the UK.
It is often the case in British politics that any conversation about referenda soonrecalls the oft-cited comment from Clement Attlee (Labour Prime Minister 1945–1951): ‘I could not consent to the introduction into our national life of a device so alien
to all our traditions’. Underpinning that assertion are procedural and philosophicalquestions about the compatibility of direct democracy (of which a referendum is
one example) with the representative democracy associated with the Westminster
model. This, in turn, takes us back to the Burkean quandary as to whether an MP
is a delegate or a representative.2 In the case of Brexit, the fact that the majority ofparliamentary representatives had profound misgivings about the electorates choice,
resulted in them being charged, by critics, with undermining democracy. The slogan‘parliament verses the people’ became a common slur against those parliamentarians.
Reflecting on a comment that she heard that referendums were a ‘poison injected
into the bloodstream of the body politic’, Helen Lewis (2018) concluded:
Ultimately, though, the poison of Brexit is a less showy one. It’s arsenic, isn’t it – that old
favourite of vengeful nephews in Agatha Christie stories? Symptoms include nausea andirritability, and they creep up so slowly that the victims don’t realise they are being poisoned
until it is too late.

At that time, so much remained up in the air but one thing was clear: the UK’s
political architecture was struggling to contain what could best be described as aseries of ‘Brexit induced fissures’. During the course of this chapter, I will highlight
how these fissures have impacted upon two domains of that architecture:(1) key features of party politics and the party system between 2017 and 2019—aperiod when the parliamentary arena looked to have reached total gridlock.
(2) the territorial integrity of the UK where future developments in Scotland andNorthern Ireland remain key.
2 Edmund Burke stressed that while an MP should listen and take on-board the views of constituents,

an MP should not be bound by those views. For him, an MP should act as a representative (ultimately
make their own judgment) and not a delegate. In his famous speech to the electors of Bristol in 1774
he said: ‘But his unbiased opinion, his mature judgment, his enlightened conscience, he ought not
to sacrifice to you, to any man, or to any set of men living… Your representative owes you, not his
industry only, but his judgment; and he betrays, instead of serving you, if he sacrifices it to youropinion’. Edmund Burke, Speech to the Electors of Bristol (November 3, 1774). Taken from The
Founders’ Constitution, Volume 1, Chapter 13, Document 7. As at https://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/
founders/documents/v1ch13s7.html. At that time women were excluded from the right to stand orvote.

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Concerning the first domain as Clarke et al. (2017: 228) put it: ‘Brexit has strong
potential to destabilize what is already a fragmenting and shaky party system …. The
future of the UK polity itself may be at stake as well’. It, of course, was not meant
to be like this. The UK political system with its first-past-the-post electoral system
was meant to perpetuate continuity in the form of a two-party/two-and-a-half party
system, strong government, and strong party leadership. In relation to the second
domain, the question of Scottish independence was supposedly put to bed in 2014
after the defeat of the independence referendum and Northern Ireland’s place as
an integral part of the UK was unquestionable. The extreme turmoil and disruption
wrought by Brexit, however, has brought all of these issues back under the political
spotlight.

1 Disruption and Turmoil Within the Parliamentary
System
In the wake of the 2017 election, Cowley (2018: 410) concluded that: ‘Rather thandelivering a “strong and stable” government, the nation ended up with a minority
government and a weakened Prime Minister about to embark on the most important and complex negotiations the UK had entered in living memory.’ For the next
2 years, British politics found itself totally preoccupied and perhaps, one might say,traumatized by Brexit. There is a famous meme of Austin Powers trying (unsuccessfully) to do a three-point turn in a corridor in a small motorized cart which isbasically the same length as the width of the corridor. It seemed to be an appropriate
metaphor. Professor Peter Hennessy, in the Radio Four series, The briefing Room,put it more eloquently when he spoke of the political system being ‘stress-tested’
like never before by Brexit. He went on to assert: ‘The European question is the great
disrupter of post-War British politics and, my heavens, it’s a capital D disruptor at
the moment’ (As at https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p06w8qtg).
During the latter stages of the second Theresa May premiership (June 2017–July2019), as she sought to secure legislative ratification of the deal that she had negotiatedwith the EU, the febrile nature of the political atmosphere inside and outside of theparliament reached fever-pitch. Night after night political figures, commentators andcontrarians would take to the airwaves with their view of the day’s proceedings. Prime
Minister May found herself caught in a pincer movement as opponents from all sides,
including from within her own party, berated both her deal and the integrity of her
leadership. The ferocity of the ‘blue-on-blue’ attacks, i.e. attacks from within theConservative Party, completely undermined the idea of strong party leadership andleft the notion of party discipline in disarray. The Labour Party, under the leadershipof Jeremy Corbyn, also faced its own intra-party difficulties over Brexit but to a

110

S. Daymuch lesser extent.3 The tone of political debate at that time led one prominent news
presenter/journalist Emily Mattis (BBC Newsnight, 29 January 2019) to comment:
At this point perhaps, it is wise to admit the usual contract between viewer and presenteris somewhat broken. I can tell you everything that we are told. Everything the key players
have said to me. What we can’t do is tell you whether they will still be saying or thinking or
promising the same things tomorrow. Denials and guarantees are being broken as quickly as
they are being uttered.

The subsequent impasse that arose in Parliament between the Executive and theLegislature would manifest itself most overtly in the first few months of 2019 when
Prime Minister May lost three key votes (known as Meaningful Vote 1, 2, and 3) onher Brexit deal. The first vote suffered the largest defeat in parliamentary history.
In addition, all sorts of unprecedented parliamentary manoeuvres, that added to thefebrile atmosphere, would continue to unfold for most of the year. This included the
Speaker of the House John Bercow accommodating the legislatures desire to takecontrol of the Order Paper under Standing Order 24 (Standing Orders are the ‘rules ofprocedure’ associated with conducting the day-to-day business of parliament). Oneof the most dramatic events, during this timeline, occurred when Prime Minister
Johnson decided to withdrawal the whip from 21 Conservative MPs who had voted
against the government on a motion for delaying Brexit in order to prevent a nodeal.4 A few days later an interesting Twitter exchange between the Health Secretary
Matt Hancock and the former Chancellor Phillip Hammond (who had been one of the21), once again, highlighted the turbulent political atmosphere. Hancock wrote: ‘The
Conservative party has always been a broad church shaped by those within it. Gutted
to see Amber leave—but hope other One Nation Tories will stay and fight for thevalues we share’. Philip Hammond replied: ‘Sorry Matt, I’m afraid the Conservative
Party has been taken over by unelected advisors, entryists and usurpers who aretrying to turn it from a broad church into an extreme right-wing faction. Sadly, it is
not the party I joined’ (https://twitter.com/philiphammonduk/status/117063394987
9635968. Dated 8 September).

2 Electoral Turmoil and Disruption 2019–2020
Electorally, 2019 would commence with local government and European elections in
May and a number of by-elections in June and August. The governing conservatives,
under Prime Minister May, experienced an electoral drubbing that contributed to her
3 The Labour Party would have to deal with an ongoing anti-Semitism scandal that made the front

pages on and off for nearly four years. It eventually resulted in the party being placed underinvestigation by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC). The new (since April 4,2020) party leader, Keir Starmer, received plaudits from the Jewish community for the way he hassought to deal with it. See ‘Jewish leaders praise Keir Starmer for pledges on Labour antisemitism’,
The Guardian, April 7, 2020.
4 Ten would later have the whip reinstated. Two would leave the party and join the Liberal Democrats.

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Table 1 European election results (May 2019)
Position on Brexit at
the time of the election

Political party

Percentage of the vote

Cumulative support
for different types of
Brexit (%)‘No-deal’ Brexit

The Brexit Party

30.79

34.01

UKIP

3.22

Liberal Democrats

19.78

Greens11.78

Change UK

3.31

Scottish
National Party (SNP)

3.51

RemainSome form ofsoft-Brexit

Plaid Cymru

0.97

Conservative Party

8.86

Labour Party

13.74

39.35

22.6

Turnout was 36.7%
Source 2019 European election results: UK official results. https://europarl.europa.eu/election-res
ults-2019/en/national-results/united-kingdom/2019-2024/

eventual resignation on June 7. With Prime Minister Boris Johnson at the helm, andthe constant repetition of the simple and memorable slogan: ‘Get Brexit Done’, theparty’s electoral fortunes would change dramatically at December’s general election(see sect. 3 below). During the year, the electoral scene would also be joined by
the short-lived pro-Remain ‘Change UK’ as well as Nigel Farage’s ‘Brexit Party’.
Both were officially launched in April. While the former (which was formed by asmall group of eight Labour and three Conservative MPs who had broken away fromtheir respective parties) sought to secure a ‘people’s vote’ (a second referendum)
with the hope of remaining in the EU; the latter advocated what it called a ‘Cleanbreak Brexit’. This was a euphemism for just walking away without any kind ofwithdrawal agreement and trading with the EU on WTO terms. The Brexit Party
promised a political revolution. For a while, especially its success at the European
elections (see Table 1), it looked on-course to really shake-up the political scene. In
the end, however, it would fizzle out.5
The 2019 electoral cycle as already mentioned kicked-off with the May 2019 local
elections. The outcome was a Conservative Party in electoral free-fall. It suffered theloss of 1330 of its 4894 seats leaving it with 3564. One would have normally expected
the main opposition party to benefit from the governing party’s woe. Yet, Labour was
unable to capitalise. The party actually lost 84 seats bringing it down to 2021. It did
not bode well for any forthcoming general election. Labour’s riposte was to seek
solace from the experience of the 2017 general election campaign. At that time, a
5 A unique feature of the Brexit Party, compared to other political parties, was its business-likestructure. It was registered as a Private Limited Company (PLC). Party members were deemed‘registered supporters’.

112

S. Dayheadline in the Independent (June 1, 2017) that read ‘Jeremy Corbyn goes from nohoper to crowd-puller on the campaign trail’ captured his ability to resonate with the
public—particularly the young which would go on to spawn the word ‘youthquake’.
So, the argument ran that such a pattern would repeat itself at the next general election.
Once the voters saw ‘Jeremy’ in the flesh and heard Labour’s message, undistortedby the media, they would turn to Labour. In terms of the electoral spoils that night,
they belonged to the Liberal Democrats which gained 706 seats increasing its total to1352. This was just the sort of momentum they wanted to take into the forthcoming
European elections. In the words of the then party leader Vince Cable ‘…we go into
the European elections as the clear gathering point for remainers’ (Cable 2019).
It was during the campaign for the European elections, a campaign that was nevermeant to have taken place because the UK should have left the EU on March 29,
that the Liberal Democrats adopted the most explicit pro-Remain slogan: ‘Bollocks
to Brexit’.
The clear winners at the European elections were the Brexit Party. It championed
the cause of a ‘no-deal’ Brexit. It was not, however, a message that resonated with amajority of those who voted. A plurality of voters had backed parties supporting aremain position. While even the soft-Brexit message of the Conservatives and Labour
attracted nearly a quarter of voters. That could not, however, hide the fact that theConservatives had just experienced their worst ever result in the party’s long history.
Given the success of the Brexit Party at the European elections and the publicity
that it generated, the bookmakers (who are seldom wrong) marked them as thefavourites to take the seat of Peterborough at the June 6 by-election. It was aconstituency where the previous Labour MP had to relinquish her seat over a criminal
conviction and the constituency voted 61% in favour of Brexit back in 2016. Labour,
however, drawing upon a strong ground operation and a campaign focused on local
issues was able to hold the seat—taking 31% of vote (down 17% on the 2017 generalelection) compared with 29% for the Brexit Party. The Conservative Party came inthird with a 21% vote share (down 25 points on 2017). It was an outcome that may
well have lulled Labour into a false sense of security. Anecdotal evidence would later
point to an ill-prepared and chaotic general election campaign that proved unable tohold, amongst many others, the Peterborough seat.
A couple of months after the Peterborough by-election, the first electoral test for
the new Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, would be played out in the Welsh constituency
of Brecon and Radnorshire on August 1. The by-election came about as a result of
the sitting Conservative MP being recalled due to an electoral expenses violation. It
was a seat that had swung between the Liberal Democrat and the Conservatives forthe past 40 years. In 2017, the Conservatives won it with a vote share of 48.6%. This
was nearly 20 points ahead of the second place Liberal Democrat. This time round,the constituency was privy to the first incarnation of a tentative pro-Remain electoral
alliance. Both Plaid Cymru and the Greens decided not to stand a candidate in order togive the Liberal Democrats a better chance of success. Vince Cable had previouslymooted the idea of electoral co-operation in the wake of the local elections, as apossible pro-Remain strategy for a forthcoming general election:

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Yet seizing the opportunity will be about more than brands and rhetoric. It takes infrastructure,
volunteers and sheer hard work. The first-past-the-post system makes a general election an
existential threat to any force which doesn’t have a serious ground campaign. Meanwhile,
the more competitors there are on the same territory the greater the risk that, by failing tohang together, we all hang separately (Cable 2019).

The idea of a sustained and comprehensive electoral alliance, however, would
fail to gain any real traction as the Labour party could not be brought on-board.
On this occasion, though, the Brecon and Radnorshire seat would be taken by the
Liberal Democrats with 43.5% of vote compared with 39% for the Conservatives.
The Brexit Party’s 10.5% highlighted that splitting the ‘Leave vote’ could be costly
and it was likely to have been a factor contributing to Nigel Farage’s decision, in earlyNovember, to no longer field a candidate, in the forthcoming general election, in any
constituency held by a Conservative MP (remember the Conservatives under Boris
Johnson had adopted a much harder Brexit position compared to his predecessor).
Interestingly, the Conservatives would win the Brecon seat back four months laterat the December general election with 53.1% of the popular vote compared with the
Liberal Democrats 35.9%.

3 December 2019: The Brexit Election
Back in 2015, the traditional dominance of the two-party system was coming to an
end. The outcome of the election gave the Conservatives and Labour a 67% shareof the popular vote. At its highpoint, in 1951, their combined total had been 97%.
At the time, Dunleavy (2015) highlighted the fact that ‘So Britain now is prettymuch exactly like every other multi-party system across western Europe’ (Italics inoriginal). Two years later, though, Labour and the Conservatives secured 84 percentof the popular vote. In mid-2019 fragmentation, once again, appeared to be returningwith a vengeance. Opinion polls were indicating a four-way split stemming froma resurging Liberal Democrats and the newly emerging Brexit Party. A YouGov(2019) tracker poll of Westminster voting intentions in early June, for example, gave
the Brexit Party 26% followed by Labour and the Liberal Democrats on 20%, theConservative Party on 18% and the Greens on 9%. In an atmosphere of fragmentation,
the suggestion that an election could be won with approximately 30–33% of the
popular vote began to emerge and undoubtedly impacted upon party strategies visà-vis the types of campaigns and messaging necessary to secure such a figure.6
The December general election would prove to be an election dominated by Brexit
much to the irritation of Labour. At one stage, their desire to downplay the Brexit
dimension led them to send a complaint to SkyNews who were framing it as ‘The
Brexit election’. Voters in vox pop interviews appeared to take the view that the

6 Back in 2005, Tony Blair’s third term in office was secured with the lowest ever share of the popular

vote at just 35.2%.

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S. Daysocial issues that Labour were campaigning on were important, but that Brexit overshadowed everything. Basically, until it was completed Brexit had to be the priority.
Because of the division amongst Labour supporters, particularly in the north ofEngland where the support for Leave amongst traditional labour voters was high,the party sought to triangulate a position between its Remain and Leave camps via
an anti-austerity message. Jeremy Corbyn had laid out the line at the beginning of
the year in a speech in the Labour heartland of Wakefield (January 10) where amajority of the electorate had voted Leave. In the post speech Q&A with the media
he stressed: ‘The whole point of the speech that I made today is that you can bringcommunities together on a policy of social justice and a policy of investment anda policy of bringing this country together’. The message though failed to resonate.
Take this SkyNews interview (December 3, 2019) with a long-standing traditional
Labour voter. Former Trade Unionist David Pearce (82), a strong leave supporter,
was for the first time in his life thinking of voting Conservative:
When I go up to see St Peter, I don’t know whether he will let me in or not. …I don’t feel
good about it…I feel a little bit of a traitor but if you’re so adamant about your beliefs you
have got to take a decision. And sometimes it is not what you want to do.

Labour would go on to suffer an electoral meltdown dropping to its lowest numberof MPs since 1935. The Brexit Party was wiped off the map not least because Boris
Johnson and his promise of ‘getting Brexit done’ by October 31 ‘do or die’ took thewind out of their sails. It was a dramatic victory for the Conservative party as Table
2 highlights.
Table 2 2019 general election results
Party

Seats (compared with 2017)

Vote share % (compared with2017)

Conservatives

365 (+47)

43.6 (+1.2)

Labour203 (−59)32.2 (-7.8)

Liberal Democrats

11 (−1)

11.5 (+4.2)

Scottish National Party

48 (+13)

3.9 (+0.8)

Democratic Unionist Party(Northern Ireland)

8 (−2)

0.8 (−0.1)

Sinn Fein (Northern Ireland)

7 (no change)

0.6 (-0.2)

Plaid Cymru (Wales)

4 (no change)

0.5 (no change)

Social Democratic Labour Party(Northern Ireland)

2 (+2)

0.4 (+0.1)

Green

1 (no change)

2.7 (+1.1.)

Alliance Party (Northern Ireland) 1 (+1)

0.4 (+0.2)

Brexit Party

2 (+2)

0

There are also a plethora of other parties/single issue groups that stood candidates acrossdifferent parts of the UK but received less than 0.1% of the vote and failed to gain any seats
Source https://www.bbc.com/news/election/2019/results (accessed December 20, 2019)7 ‘Brexit Fissures’: Party Politics and Territorial Politics Post-2017

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In a widely circulated speech, a week after the election, entitled ‘Labour’s Historicchallenge’ Tony Blair (2019) argued that the party had:…pursued a path of almost comic indecision, alienated both sides of the debate [Leavers andRemainers], leaving our voters without guidance or leadership. The absence of leadershipon what was obviously the biggest single issue facing the country then reinforced all theother doubts about Jeremy Corbyn.

Blair was referring to the fact that the electorate was still perceiving itself interms of its ‘Brexit identity’ (whether one was a ‘Leaver’ or a ‘Remainer’) rather
than more traditional/historical party identities (Hobolt et al. 2019). It remains to be
seen whether or not voters return to this more traditional pattern in the years ahead.
In Scotland and Northern Ireland, the election outcome, combined with thecertainty that the passage of the EU Withdrawal Agreement Bill, leading to the
31 January 2020 departure, was now assured would further fire-up calls for independence. It would also exacerbate Unionist fears about Northern Ireland being castadrift.

4 Fissures at the Territorial Level
The territorial dimension associated with the Brexit story was rarely spoken of during
the 2016 referendum campaign but as the quotation from John Major at the start of thischapter suggests it should have been. It would emerge, not only, as a central elementof UK–EU negotiations (issues surrounding the Irish border/Irish protocol) but would
also become an existential issue vis-à-vis the future of the UK as a political entity. It
is worth remembering that in the letter that Prime Minister May sent to Donald Tusk
(President of the European Council) to formally trigger the legal process of leaving
the EU (triggering Article 50) in March 2017 she stated ‘…it is the expectation of
the Government that the outcome of this process will be a significant increase in thedecision-making power of each devolved administration’ (May 2017). In July of thatyear, with the publication of the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill, the devolved
institutions expressed consternation at the gap between May’s rhetoric and what
they perceived to be the legislative reality. In a joint statement, the First Minister of
Scotland Nicola Sturgeon and First Minister of Wales Carwyn Jones concluded thatthe Bill was:…a naked power-grab, an attack on the founding principles of devolution and could destabilise our economies…. On that basis, the Scottish and Welsh Governments cannot recommend that legislative consent is given to the Bill as it currently stands (July 13, 2017. https://
news.gov.scot/news/eu-withdrawal-bill).

In the 2014 independence referendum, the electorate in Scotland voted by a marginof 55–45% in favour of remaining part of the UK. At that time, a central plank ofthe ‘Better Together’ (pro-UK) campaign was the importance of EU membershipand the benefits that Scotland garnered from being part of the UK which was partof the EU. With Brexit that was no longer the case. This new reality triggered the

116

S. DayScottish National Party’s (SNP’s) stated position that an event that constituted a‘significant and material change’ to Scotland (which Brexit was, in their opinion)
would justify the holding of a second independence referendum. In addition, in
the Brexit referendum the Scottish electorate had shown a clear desire (62–38%)
to remain. Brexit, therefore, for many in Scotland looked very much like a project‘made in England’ where voters sided with Leave by 53.4–46.4% (see Henderson
et al. 2017). As Stephens (2019) wrote: ‘Scots are paying the price of a recklessgamble to make it easier for Mr. Cameron to handle the rising English nationalism
in the Conservative Party. Brexit was an English project’.
Fast forward to the December 2019 general election. For the SNP, the result which
saw them secure 49 seats out of the 59 Scottish electoral constituencies – up from 35
in 2017 – meant that Boris Johnson and the Conservative government had no rightto stand in the way of a Section 30 request. Section 30 is the part of the Scotland
Act 1998 that necessitates a legislative greenlight from the UK government before
the Scottish Parliament can commence the legislative process required to hold areferendum. Conservatives, and other supporters of the Union, however, continuallystress that the 2014 referendum was a once in a generation event. Keating (2018: 48)
though questioned whether the constitutional framework that has granted devolved
status to Scotland, ‘…having survived the test of an independence referendum in
2014’ is ‘strong enough to survive the test of Brexit’.
In the case of Northern Ireland, voters also backed remaining in the European
Union by a margin of 55.8% to 44.2. But as McGowan (2018: 105) put it:
The status quo that Northern Ireland enjoyed as a member of the EU goes after Brexit.
There are economic challenges ahead, but it is the political realm where the impact may begreatest. Relations between the two main communities will be tested and ultimately, Brexit
has brought the prospects of Irish unification a little closer.

At least in one respect, however, everyone was agreed: there should be no return
to a hard border. As a symbol of ‘The Troubles’ the idea of a ‘hard-border’ conjuredup lingering fears of a return to smuggling and violence. Violence that would, once
again, rear its ugly head with the murder of the journalist Lyra Mckee in April 2019.
As a result of the 1998 Good Friday (Belfast) Agreement (GFA), the dismantling ofcustoms and security checks at designated border crossing points between Northern
Ireland and Ireland became a potent symbol of change. Cross-border economic cooperation (via the facilitation of an all-Island economy); the North–South Ministerial
Council; as well as civil society initiatives and a right for anyone born in Northern
Ireland to self-identify as British, Irish or both, etc., were all aimed at building peace,stability and reconciliation. The GFA was also responsible for the creation of theStormont-based power sharing Northern Ireland Executive and parallel Assembly towhich it is accountable. The Executive is responsible for large swaths of public policy.
Dominated by the political forces representing the two main political communities(Unionists and Nationalists), it also included parties that have adopted a non-aligned
cross-community political identity. Given that Brexit raised the spectre of a hardborder it was like a fly in the ointment of this carefully crafted arrangement. In
order to avoid any type of land border and to continue to uphold the principles of7 ‘Brexit Fissures’: Party Politics and Territorial Politics Post-2017

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the GFA it would require a very specific set of measures, as laid out in the revised
63-page Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland that was part of the updated EU–UK
Withdrawal Agreement which was finalized in October 2019 (see Revised Protocol
2019) (see below).
In terms of the party politics of Northern Ireland, for much of the Brexit-saga,
the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), the largest political voice of the Unionist
community which supported Leave, was front and centre. It had carved out a powerfulpolitical role for itself in Westminster as a result of its ‘confidence and supply’
agreement with the governing (minority) Conservative party. Sinn Féin, the largest
party representing a sizeable majority of the nationalist community, which supported
Remain, does not take its seats in the UK House of Commons. This meant that the
party’s take on Brexit was rarely heard in the wider UK debate unlike the DUP’s.
All along, the bottom line for the DUP was that Northern Ireland should be treatedas an integral part of the UK. It was that position which in late 2017 forced the May
government to reject the EU’s offer of a Northern Ireland only backstop. It would
have established an East–West border down the Irish Sea. At that time Arlene Foster,
DUP leader, stated:
We will not accept any form of regulatory divergence which separates Northern Ireland
economically or politically from the rest of the United Kingdom. The economic and constitutional integrity of the United Kingdom will not be compromised in any way (Statement
released on Twitter December 4, 2017. https://twitter.com/DUPleader/status/937692999697
485825).

The problem for Prime Minister May though was that the option she chose to
replace the EU’s offer – the UK wide backstop – became the totem around which
the Eurosceptics in her party coalesced and militated against her and her deal.
For the DUP, the arrival of Boris Johnson into Number 10 Downing Street, did
not ring any alarm bells. He had received a rapturous welcome at their Congressin 2018 where he reaffirmed his commitment to the Union and stirred their hearts
with his rhetoric (Johnson 2018). The DUP also had a UK government policy paper
from 9 January 2019 entitled ‘UK Government commitments to Northern Ireland andits integral place in the United Kingdom’ from which it could take comfort. Theirworld, however, would soon be turned upside down. First, by the deal that Prime
Minster Johnson negotiated with the EU in October. Second, the outcome of the
December general election which meant that they were no longer needed to prop-up
a minority Conservative administration. Concerning the negotiated deal (Withdrawal
Agreement), the new Ireland/Northern Ireland Protocol rowed back on his priorcommitment to the DUP not to allow an East–West border between Northern Irelandand Great Britain, As a result, it pegs Northern Ireland to specific rules and regulationsof the EU single market in goods and agriculture. This was the price Johnson was
prepared to pay in order to ditch the UK-wide backstop. Although the Protocol
included a new consent mechanism that affords the Northern Ireland Assembly a sayover the continuation of the arrangement after 4 years, this only requires a simple
majority which further weakens the voice of Unionists who no longer constitute amajority in the Assembly. For the DUP, and the wider Loyalist community, Prime

118

S. DayMinister Johnson’s deal amounted to a complete betrayal. For months afterward,
though, Johnson continued to deny that an East–West border would necessitate anyneed for checks or paperwork (beyond already existing checks such as checks onlive animals). Even when surrounded by the splendour of the interior of Stormont
Castle, with as he put it ‘the hand of the future beckoning us all forward’ he said: ‘I
cannot see any circumstances whatever, in which there would be any need for checks
on goods going from Northern Ireland to GB’ (January 13, 2020 press conference).
In the middle of May, it was reported that the ‘British government has confirmed itwill urgently put in place detailed plans with the [Northern Ireland] Executive, which
does include the physical posts at ports of entry’ (Quoted in ‘Brexit: Unionists reactwith dismay as Irish Sea border ‘now a certainty’, Irish Times, 14 May 2020). So,with the coming Irish-Sea border, checks and tariffs and extra paperwork (such as
exit declarations) on goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland (and viceversa) will become the new normal. Events in mid-September, however, following
the UK government’s publication of the Internal Market Bill has temporarily, at least,
upended that certainty and caused a diplomatic spat with the EU and uproar within
the Conservative Party.

5 Concluding Remarks
The period of party fragmentation over Brexit is now over. So many of the players
who graced the TV screens night after night in the wake of the referendum have now
either departed from the political spotlight or have been consigned to the politicalwilderness. The Brexit Party fizzled out, while the Liberal Democrats are finding it
difficult to reorient themselves after the election. An internal review of their generalelection performance described their campaign as a ‘high speed car crash’ (Liberal
Democrats 2020: 13). The Conservatives elected a new leader, expelled their rebels,
got a deal, won the election, formed a strong government and implemented that
deal. The government, however, is presently engaged in what appears to be a rather
bruising encounter, for both sides, as UK and EU negotiators seek to finalise a future
trade deal before the middle of October. In addition, the government’s (and Prime
Minister Johnson’s) handling of the covid-19 crisis, as well as the performance ofthe new Labour leader Keir Starmer as he seeks to turn around the party’s fortunes
has seen the gap in support between the two parties narrow dramatically. By early
September, the Conservative lead was fluctuating between 1 and 3%. Starmer’s
performance has also seen him edge in front of Johnson as the best person to be
prime minister (YouGov Poll in The Times, 7 August 2020). Interestingly though,unlike other opposition party leaders, Starmer is not backing the idea of calling for an
extension of the future trade talks (The Independent 11 May 2020). The DUP havereturned to the Northern Ireland Assembly and the power-sharing Executive which
is up and running after a three-year hiatus. Some party figures now seemed resigned
to the way Brexit has panned out. Christopher Stalford (Member of the Legislative
Assembly for the DUP), for example, was quoted as saying:7 ‘Brexit Fissures’: Party Politics and Territorial Politics Post-2017

119

It is bittersweet for me. I campaigned for Brexit and supported leaving the European Union
but unfortunately the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement places my part of the UK under
different conditions to the rest of the UK… I always had one view on Brexit which was we
went in as one UK and we should leave as one UK (Interview on BBC News Channel, 31
January 2020).

While the turmoil within the party system has abated (at least for the time being),
the fissures that surround territorial politics remain unabated. In the case of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon continues to press the case for a second referendum. At apress conference on January 31, 2020 she indicated that she had asked the Electoral
Commission ‘to retest the question: “should Scotland be an independent country”
which had been on the ballot paper in 2014. In the case of Northern Ireland, Mary
Lou McDonald (Sinn Féin President) stated, during the official announcement thatthe party would be returning to Stormont, that:At these historic times we will also work for Irish reunification. And we want to ensure thatthe criteria for ensuring the triggering of an Irish unity poll are set out and the planning for
Irish unity is stepped up including the convening of a national forum to discuss and plan for
the future (Stormont, 10 January 2020).

In both Scotland and Northern Ireland, therefore, the groundwork for independence continues to be laid. However, in both cases nothing can happen unless the
UK government grants the legal authority for a referendum/border poll to be held.
Added to that is the fact that any eventual referendum has to be won. In January
2020, a YouGov poll put support for Scottish independence at 51%. But it also indicated that the SNP still needs to convince the electorate that the time is right for a
new referendum (YouGov 2020). By September numerous polls had put backing forindependence around the 53-54% mark. A poll in early 2020 in Northern Ireland put
support for reunification at 32% (Tonge 2020). Hence advocates for independence
from the UK still have a lot of work to do in order to convince their respective electorates of the merits of their vision. In the short term, though, everything hinges on
December 31, 2020—the next staging-post in the Brexit saga. The lack of a future
trading deal with the EU will undoubtedly amplify existing, and reawaken dormant,
fissures. Even with a deal, in whatever shape or form, the UK will still be entering
uncharted waters.

References
Blair, T. (2019). Labour’s historic challenge. 18 December. Full text of the speech reproduced.
Retrieved May 15, 2020, from https://institute.global/tony-blair/labours-historic-challenge.
Cable, V. (2019). Lib Dem leader: ‘We’re back and we’re your only chance of stopping Brexit’. The
Observer, May 5. Retrieved May 15, 2020, from https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/
may/05/vince-cable-lib-dems-elections-your-only-chance-of-stopping-brexit.
Clarke, H. D., Goodwin, M., & Whiteley, P. (2017). Brexit: Why Britain votes to leave the European
Union. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Cowley, P. (2018). The election in retrospect. In P. Cowley & D. Kavanagh (Eds.), The British
general election of 2017. Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan.

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S. DayDunleavy, P. (2015). Why the 2015 UK election spells the bitter end for the biggest ‘law’ in politicalscience. LSE Blogs. Retrieved May 20, 2020, from https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2015/04/
30/why-the-2015-uk-election-spells-the-bitter-end-for-the-biggest-law-in-political-science/.
Henderson, A., Jeffery, C., & Wincott, D. (2017). How Brexit was made in England. The British
Journal of Politics and International Relations, 19(4), 631–646. https://doi.org/10.1177/136914
8117730542.
Hobolt, S., Leeper, T., & Tilley, J. (2019). Divided by the Vote: Affective polarization in the wakeof Brexit. Draft paper https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/tjl-sharing/assets/DividedByTheVote.
pdf.
Johnson, B. (2018). Boris Johnson’s speech to DUP conference: ‘we are on the verge of making
a historic mistake’, text reproduced in The Spectator 24 November. Retrieved May 10, 2020,
from https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/boris-johnson-s-speech-to-dup-conference-we-are-onthe-verge-of-making-a-historic-mistake.
Keating, M. (2018). Brexit and Scotland. In P. Diamond, P. Nedergaard, & B. Rosamond (Eds.),
The Routledge handbook of the politics of Brexit (pp. 40–48). Oxon: Routledge.
Lewis, H. (2018). Brexit has poisoned our politics – and there is no antidote in sight. NewStatesman,
27 June. Retrieved May 10, 2020, from https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk/2018/06/bre
xit-has-poisoned-our-politics-and-there-no-antidote-sight.
Liberal Democrats. (2020). 2019 Election review: Report. https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/
libdems/pages/58994/attachments/original/1589548753/embedpdf_The_2019_Liberal_Dem
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May, T. (2017). Correspondence. Prime Minister’s letter to Donald Tusk triggering Article 50.
Published 29 March 2017. Retrieved May 10, 2020, from https://www.gov.uk/government/pub
lications/prime-ministers-letter-to-donald-tusk-triggering-article-50/prime-ministers-letter-todonald-tusk-triggering-article-50.
McGowan, L. (2018). Preparing for Brexit: Actors, Negotiations and Consequences. Palgrave
Macmillan.
Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland. (2019). https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/
uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/840230/Revised_Protocol_to_the_Withdrawal_A
greement.pdf.
The Independent online. (2020). Keir Starmer refuses to back Brexit transition extension. Independent, 11 May. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-delay-transition-keirstarmer-boris-johnson-deal-eu-a9508136.html.
Stephens, P. (2019). Brexit makes the case for an independent Scotland. Financial Times, May 2.
Retrieved May 18, 2020.
Tonge, J. (2020). An antidote to recent excitable predictions of Irish unity, but there
are signs of change. Belfast telegraph, 18 February 2020. Retrieved May 20, 2020,
from https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/opinion/news-analysis/an-antidote-to-recent-excitablepredictions-of-irish-unity-but-there-are-signs-of-change-38966199.html.
YouGov. (2019). Voting intention: Brex 26%, Lab 20%, Lib Dem 20%, Con 18% (5–6 June), June
7. Retrieved May 10, 2020, from https://yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/articles-reports/2019/06/
07/voting-intention-brex-26-lab-20-lib-dem-20-con-18.
YouGov. (2020). Scottish independence: Yes leads as Remainers increasingly back splitting with
UK, January 30, 2020. Retrieved May 10, 2020, from https://yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/art
icles-reports/2020/01/30/scottish-independence-yes-leads-remainers-increasi.

Stephen Day is Professor of Comparative politics and EU Studies at the Faculty of Economics,
University of Oita. His primary research interests include the evolution of political parties at thenational and transnational level and the on-going debate about the future of the European Union
in the wake of Brexit. He has also written about the issue of income inequality, identity and citizenship. Since 2012 he has been an Honorary Visiting Fellow at the University of Exeter. He iscurrently working on a research project about the role and significance of the European political

7 ‘Brexit Fissures’: Party Politics and Territorial Politics Post-2017

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parties (Europarties) which is being funded by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science(JSPS, Kiban C, Project No. 17K03544). Recent publications include: (1) ‘Facing the Spectre of
Permanent Opposition? A Case Study of the Japanese Parliamentary Opposition 2013–2019’, Oita
University Economic Review, Vol. 72. No. 1, 2020, pp. 1–29. Co-written with Ian Neary. (2) ‘The
Surprising Longevity of Kawasaki’s Representative Assembly for Foreign Residents: An Institutionalist Account’, Social Science Japan Journal, Volume 21, Issue 1, 2018. (3) ‘Global Party
Internationals: “Tackling the Dilemma of Indifference”, in S. Van Hecke et al. (2018), Reconnecting European Political Parties with EU Citizens. International IDEA Discussion Paper 6/2018.
Office of International IDEA to the European Union, Brussels, pp. 39–43.

Chapter 8

Hopes and Fears in a Preand Post-Brexit Britain
Sarah Harrison

Abstract In 2016, the surprise successes of the UK Vote Leave and Donald Trump’s
Presidential campaigns defied most expectations. In different ways, both events havearguably transformed the political landscape with lasting effects. However, theseelectoral outcomes have also raised important questions about what has changed in
the political psychology of voters and, indeed, of nations. In particular, the significance and intense emotionality of the unique EU membership referendum undoubtedly provide a fascinating insight into British citizens’ hearts and minds. This chapter
presents the findings derived from a panel study of three consecutive mass surveys
conducted with the same respondents prior to and then after the referendum on the
UK’s membership of the European Union that took place on 23 June 2016. Analysisof the quantitative and qualitative data is used to highlight the intricate complexitiesof this remarkable vote and the findings reveal that there is unprecedented polarisation and division within communities. This chapter concludes by discussing thewider implications of these findings within a similarly challenging context for the
global political status quo.

1 Introduction
In 2016, the surprise successes of the UK Vote Leave and Donald Trump’s Presidential campaigns defied most expectations. In different ways, both events have arguablytransformed the political landscape with lasting effects. However, these electoral
outcomes have also raised important questions about what has changed in the political psychology of voters and, indeed, of nations. In particular, the significance andintense emotionality of the unique EU membership referendum undoubtedly provide
a fascinating insight into British citizens’ hearts and minds.
This chapter presents the findings derived from a panel study of three consecutive mass surveys conducted with the same respondents prior to and then after thereferendum on the UK’s membership of the European Union that took place on 23
S. Harrison (B)London School of Economics and Political Science, London, UK
e-mail: S.L.Harrison@lse.ac.uk© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
K. Haba and M. Holland (eds.), Brexit and After,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-7969-1_8

123

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S. Harrison

June 2016. The three-wave panel study included a representative sample of 3000
respondents, featured 300 variables, and was conducted at three critical time points
during the referendum campaign (late April, late May, and the day after the referendum). Analysis of the quantitative and qualitative data is used to highlight the
intricate complexities of this remarkable vote. The questions were designed to probe
perceptions, expectations, and projections of the likely economic, social, and political consequences. There is substantial evidence of polarisation and division withincommunities on a level that is arguably unprecedented and has rarely been seen
before on this level. This chapter concludes by discussing the wider implications ofthese findings within a similarly challenging context for the global political status
quo.
Over the last 10 years, the research team of the Electoral Psychology Observatory
at the London School of Economics and Political Science have conducted in-depth
empirical research to gain a better understanding of citizen psychology during critical moments of an election campaign. Their research examines the psychologicalmechanisms that are triggered in voters’ minds during the campaign, at the very
moment when citizens are casting their ballot, and after an election. Their findings
have shown, for example, that in most elections, 20–30% of voters only make a
final decision within a week of the vote, half of them on Election Day. Moreover,more than a quarter of citizens have cried because of an election (Bruter and Harrison
2017a, 2020). The increasingly important role of emotions in voting has also revealed
widespread hostility among voters during the Brexit referendum and US Presidential
election, not only towards politicians and the political system but also towards fellow
voters (Bruter and Harrison 2020).
These findings have underlined how emotions can play a fundamental role inelections and that divisions within society are increasingly witnessed across established and emerging democracies. A case of example is presented by the 23 June UK
Referendum on EU membership (which is now commonly referred to as Brexit). The
highly fractious debate split the country into two visibly opposed camps. The unexpected result of a Leave victory has contributed to entrenched tension and presented
more questions than it has answered with far-reaching implications not only within
the UK and the European Union but also all across the world.
Throughout the course of this chapter, we will explore some of the key findings
derived from a series of mass surveys we conducted during the campaign leading up
to the Referendum and in the weeks following the vote.1 We will explore some ofthe striking observations that tell a story of division and polarisation within British
society as a result of this vote. Moreover, one of the most interesting observations
pertains to the fact that we have been able to track the endurance of these fractures
1 The survey was designed by Michael Bruter and Sarah Harrison at the Electoral Psychology

Observatory. It was conducted in collaboration with Opinium. The first wave of the panel study was
fielded 22–28 April 2016 (3,008 respondents), and 17–19 May 2016 (2,111 respondents, i.e. 70.2%of the original sample), and a third wave on Referendum Night 23rd June 2016. More informationon the methodology and other findings derived from this data can be found in the report ‘The
Impact of Brexit on Consumer Behaviour’ https://opinium.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/the_impact_of_brexit_on_consumer_behaviour_0.pdf.

8 Hopes and Fears in a Pre- and Post-Brexit Britain

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over time as we highlighted some additional insights from a series of surveys, we
conducted during the UK General Election on June 8 2017.

2 Before the Vote: Apprehension and Uncertainty
The referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU was widely regarded as anincredibly important vote with far-reaching consequences not only within the UK but
also to the extent that the result would likely impact countries far beyond the shoresof Britain. In this respect, we asked respondents of the survey that we conducted prior
to the vote to rank some recent elections from most to least important for the UK.
Overall, Table 1 shows that a vast majority of respondents view the June referendum
on EU membership as the single most important vote for the UK in a generation(54%). Over 80% see it as one of the top three votes to take place during recent
years.
Whilst the vote itself was perceived to be historic, with notably important consequences for all concerned, it was also characterised by a very negative campaign fromboth sides of the debate. In terms of the messages and the tone of the campaigns, theLeave supporters played upon the perceived fears and insecurities that many citizens
in the UK were feeling as a result of an extended period of austerity, high levelsof unemployment, and failed immigration policies. The Remain campaign instead
focused on the more ‘rational’ side of the arguments highlighting the more technical aspects of EU membership without really appealing to the more cultural valueof this shared community. In order to illustrate, the opposing discourse of the two
campaigns we used an open-ended question to capture the unprompted reactionsof respondents. We asked participants to report the words that they spontaneously
though of when imagining a Remain or a Leave outcome in June. These references
are illustrated by a word clouds in Fig. 1. While both Remain and Leave outcomes
attract a mixture of positive and negative spontaneous references, it is quite clear thata Leave victory feels significantly more threatening to respondents as a whole with
two of the top three categories being negative and focusing on fear and danger. All of
the negative elements associated with leaving the EU pertain either to the future stateof the countries (risk, disaster, chaos, conflict, etc.) or implicitly perceived to be a
Table 1 The most important vote in a generation
The most important vote for our nation

Ranked top

In the top 3

The 2016 EU Referendum

54

81

The 2015 General Election

13

58

The 1975 EEC Referendum

1250

The 2014 Scottish Independence Referendum

948

The 2016 Local Elections

7

31

The 2011 Referendum on the electoral system

5

31

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S. Harrison

Fig. 1 Word clouds based on frequencies of references to Remain and Leave victories

criticism of the Leave voters (foolish, stupid). By contrast, negatives associated withremaining within the EU pertain to problematic policy issues (such as immigration)or negativity towards the politicians and elites who are perceived to be biased anduntrustworthy.
It should, however, also be noted that on the whole, these references are far morepositive compared with our findings of similar association questions in the context
of UK General elections in 2010 and 2015 as well as the 2011 referendum on the
proposal of an Alternative Voting electoral system. It is also particularly interesting
to note contrary to the substantive messages of the official Remain campaign, citizens
privilege references to the idea of the shared community more than the ‘technical’
benefits that are often associated with EU membership. Indeed, these overwhelmingly
positive references highlight unity, being part of a community, strength, and solidarity
are in fact significantly higher than references to prosperity, wealth, etc. which do notfeature in the top 10 references. This suggests that perhaps the campaign led by the
Remain camp grossly underestimated the shared cultural value and importance that
British citizens feel for the European Union. In a way, the reliance of the Remain
campaign on highlighting the more technical aspects of membership was largely
misplaced as it failed to capture the hearts and minds of Britons who were inclined
to vote Remain and that were just as emotionally involved in the referendum as theircounterparts on the opposing side.

3 Electoral Identity in the Referendum: Two Alternative
Roles of the Voter
A central theme in our analysis of the elections we have studied as part of the large
scale electoral psychology project is a question that pertains to voters’ electoral
identity (Bruter and Harrison 2020). We ask voters to imagine that the election inquestion is the final match of the football world cup (or whatever sport is deemed
to be the national sport) and that the parties are the players of the teams competing
to win the game, in this context we ask the voters whether they see themselves asreferees or supporters. The two roles have quite different parts to play within thegame and can influence how they perceive the election and their electoral identity.

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Table 2 Electoral identity: referees or supporters?
Overall

By age group
18–39

40–64

65+

Referees*

15

20

12

12

Supporters*

42

35

44

49

Neither/Both*

43

45

44

39

Notes Referees represent the total of ‘mostly’ and ‘definitely’ a referee, Supporters the total of‘mostly’ and ‘definitely’ a supporter and the Neither/Both total the total of those who answered‘neither’ and ‘a bit of both’In the context of this Referendum, Table 2 shows that a majority of voters seethemselves as ‘supporters’ rather than ‘referees’. This finding contrasts to what we
usually witness in General Elections, whereby a majority of voters see themselves
as referees. This suggests that voters are typically have stronger preferences on theissue of whether we should be ‘in’ or ‘out’ of the EU compared with their stancetowards political parties competing for their vote.
At the same time, however, we should also note that even more than in traditional
elections, respondents demonstrate a clear perception that a responsibility is weighingon their shoulders. This is notably observed when we asked them about their main
fear in the context of the vote using an open-ended question, and a very significant
proportion of the people whom we surveyed replied that they were very worried
about making the wrong decision.
As a consequence of this burden of responsibility, the Referendum was also
perceived to be largely concerned with socio-tropic projections. In this sense, theTable 3 shows below when arbitrating between the decisions associated with voting
for what they believe will be best for them and what will be best for the country, thelatter clearly took precedence.
This is true both when we ask the question directly (as above) and when wemeasure it indirectly by checking which of the perceived best result for the individualor the perceived best result for the country is the best predictor of a respondent’s voting
intention. The majority of people would likely think about other people (versus
themselves) the rest of the country when making their decision (73%), children(68%), and the poor (59%). Just over half of the respondents (55%) report they will
Table 3 Socio-tropic versus ego-centric evaluations
BritishpeopleChildren

Britishcompanies

The
poorestYourselfTheelderlyThe
world

EuropeansMainconcern/a
lot

73

68

61

59

55

48

41

33

A
little/not
at all

27

32

39

41

45

52

59

67

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S. Harrison

vote according to what they believe is best for themselves These findings reveal
the weighted sense of responsibility and burden on people’s shoulders to ‘make theright decision’ in this historic referendum that would influence and shape the path ofthe country forever. In particular, voters give greater emphasis to the generation of
today’s children than to their own or the elderly (68% for the generation of today’schildren and only 48% for the elderly). This finding is also echoed by the finding that
respondents typically reported that remaining in the EU would be better for younger
people than for older ones, whilst a Leave result would be a more favourable outcome
for older citizens than for young people.
We have seen from the findings highlighted above that the decision on how
to vote in the referendum is an extremely important choice and is influenced byhighly emotional and projective considerations. In the next section, in order to better
understand the implications of these evaluations, we discuss the various aspects that
respondents would miss if the UK were to leave the EU.

4 Aspects of EU Membership that British Citizens Would
Miss if the UK Were to Leave the EU
We find that European identity is largely focused on a daily practice of citizenshiprather than more abstract attributes of European integration. While many politicians
speak of peace (positive) or bureaucracy (negative), prosperity (positive) or inefficiencies (negative), the vast majority of citizens see the European Union throughthe rights and duties that it gives them and the way in which it impacts upon theireveryday life.
With this in mind, we asked respondents which aspects of being European citizens
they would or would not miss if Britain chose to leave the European Union in June.
The most interesting aspect of this question is that it reveals two different layers ofrights and privileges:• A series of secondary citizenship rights, typically more social or practical (medical
coverage, consumer protection, right to freely carry goods within the EU, etc.)
and which are largely reported to be important across age groups;• A series of more intense primary citizenship rights (living, working, or studying
anywhere in the EU, being part of a political community, EU passport), which
would be particularly missed by the younger voters, but much less so by older
voters.
From these findings displayed in Table 4, we can see that young people aged
18–39 place the highest emphasis on potentially missing the right to live anywherein the EU, work or study anywhere in the EU, and three-quarters of them would also
miss having a European passport or being part of a unified human community ofEuropeans. However, less than 50% of those aged 55 and over would miss any ofthese aspects of EU membership.

8 Hopes and Fears in a Pre- and Post-Brexit Britain

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Table 4 Aspects of EU membership that UK citizens would miss in the case of a Leave victory
18–24 25–39 40–54 55–64 65+
The right to live in another EU country

86

78

56

45

44

Being able to bring back anything when travelling within 84
the EU

77

61

52

50

No mobile phone roaming surcharge across the EU

84

77

56

47

44

The possibility to make large purchases anywhere in the
EU

83

72

53

44

43

Benefitting from EU consumer protection

82

81

67

59

55

The right to medical treatment anywhere in the EU

80

84

68

65

66

The right to work or study in another EU country

77

78

51

39

36

Holding a European Union passport

77

72

44

35

32

Feeling part of a large human community

76

71

53

42

42

The ability to appeal to the European Court of Human
Rights

75

78

57

53

47

The right to vote in local elections anywhere you live in
the EU

72

67

43

35

32

The presence of nurses and waiters from other EU
countries

71

71

52

52

58

The right to vote in European Parliament elections

67

64

42

34

29

Symbols like the flag, anthem, etc.

55

55

31

22

23

By contrast, while such elements as consumer protection, being able to bring backgoods from anywhere in the EU and medical protection across the EU territory areof less concern to the younger generation of voters, they would be missed by all
generation. This is particularly true of EU-wide medical protection which would be
missed by two-thirds of the voters aged 55 and above. It is also worth mentioning thata majority of all age groups, including the oldest ones, would also miss the presenceof waiters or nurses from all over the EU in their daily life, which is in interesting
contrast with the generally negative views expressed towards immigration as a genericconcept.
It is also interesting to note that when we disaggregate the results by intended vote,a majority of those who are unsure of how they will cast their ballot on 23 June would
typically miss most existing EU citizenship rights at least to some extent, which seems
to bring them closer to EU supporters on the value of existing EU-related rights.
With the country divided on the issue of the whether to Leave or Remain in theEU, the Referendum result would determine which side would be de facto victorious.
However, the fact that the debate had split the country along divisive lines, meant that
there were explicit concerns that whichever way the result would go, the implicationsof leaving the EU would be far-reaching and affect every detail of daily life. The
next section looks at precisely this issue by asking respondents about who they would
perceive to be the expected winners and losers of the Referendum.

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S. Harrison

Table 5 Winners and losers in the case of a leave victory
18–24

25–39

40–54

55–64

65 +

People like me

−26

−15

0

+3

+20

Young people

−26

−13

−1

+10

+16

Unemployed

−18

−7

+1

+3

+16

Middle class

−17

−10

0

+3

+12

UK Business

−14

−15

−8

−3

+7

Elderly

−11

−7

0

+1

+9

5 Perceived Winners and Losers of the Referendum
Table 5 shows that in terms of the losers and winners of the Referendum, quite
unsurprisingly, respondents tend to rationalise their predictions with their expected
vote, so that the most pro-Remain generational group, 18–24 year old’s tend to thinkthat everybody would lose out in the case of a Brexit, whilst the most pro-Brexit
demographic category, over 65 year old’s believe that every category of British people
would in fact be winners.
What is more paradoxical, however, is that when hierarchy between categories,
the more individual categories are seen by young voters as standing to lose from a
Brexit outcome, the more it is claimed that they would gain from it by elderly voters.
In that sense, for 18–24 year old’s, the main losers would be—in that order—people
like the respondent, young people, the unemployed, and the middle class, and thesecategories, in the exact same order would actually be the main beneficiaries of a
Brexit vote according to 65 year old’s and over.
In summary, it was clear from the findings derived from the surveys we conductedprior to the referendum that citizens were fully aware of the importance of this voteand there was a sense that nothing will be the same after the vote (whichever way
the result went). This perceived ‘weight of responsibility’ was acutely reflected in
the responses and underlines the fluidity and intensity in the emotions, divisions, andfuture projections of the UK electorate.

6 The Unexpected Outcome
As we have seen from the above discussion, this Referendum was unique in its
importance for the future of Britain’s place not only within the European Union but
also its standing on the global stage. With polls predicting a result too close to call, thestakes were extremely high, and all eyes were watching to see which way the result
would swing. As a result, the atmosphere of Election Day was electrifyingly tensewith expectation and apprehension. The sense of the weight of responsibility that

8 Hopes and Fears in a Pre- and Post-Brexit Britain131

most voters felt was almost tangible. The fractious campaign had split the country
into two opposed camps, and it was now time to see which side would be victorious.
The result was 52% versus 48% in favour of Leaving the European Union. The
victory of the Leave camp was largely unexpected, and reverberations of this shock
were felt all across the world. Turnout was particularly high at 72% illustrating thatthe nation fully acknowledged and recognised the importance of this momentous
occasion. On the whole, Leave won the majority of votes in England and Wales, while
every council in Scotland saw Remain majorities. Striking geographical divisions
were illustrated by further analysis of the results. Many large urban cities led the vote
to Remain, whilst many suburban and rural areas preferred to vote Leave. London
exemplifies this trend. The capital was depicted as ‘an island of Euro-enthusiasm amida south-east that was mostly resolved to quit’ (The Guardian 2017). The majorities
for Remain in some inner-London boroughs were overwhelming: for example, 75%of the vote in Camden and 78% in Hackney. Outside of the city, to the south, Sutton
voted 54% for Leave, as did Barking and Dagenham, where 63% voted to Leave (The
Guardian 2017). In addition, in cities where universities are dominant—Norwich,
Bristol, Brighton, and especially Oxford and Cambridge, the Remain vote was archdominant with votes often reaching over 70%. In the North of England, the picture
was less clear cut, several big cities—including Leeds, Manchester and Liverpool—voted largely to Remain, while the Leave vote was significantly dominant in smaller
cities and towns like Wigan, St Helens, Doncaster and Barnsley.
The tensions and strains that were experienced during the campaign followed
through to Election Day and the days that followed the vote. It was undoubtedly
one of the most emotional votes of recent memory. One of the most remarkablefindings derived from our survey captured this emotionality. We found that one-thirdof Brits claimed they had tears in their eyes when they discovered the result of theReferendum (Bruter and Harrison 2020). We often presume as political scientists thatcitizens do not care about elections and that many who do turnout on election day are
dutifully carrying out their civic responsibilities, but this result perhaps sheds some
substantial doubt on this assumption. People who do not care do not cry (Bruter andHarrison 2017b). With this striking result in mind, we move on to the next section
to discuss the consequences that could be observed in the days and weeks after the
result in order to better understand the complexities of this historic vote.

7 The Aftermath of the Vote
Usually in elections, we observe a ‘honeymoon’ period after an election, when thevarious groups that campaigned get together and there is a general sense of consensus
that emerges between winners and losers that the national interest should be served
and that unity and cohesion should be prioritised. Yet, in the case of the Brexit
referendum, there has been no ‘healing’, no coming together of the groups, theLeavers and Remainers are still distinct groups with very different and opposed
views on how the future should be directed. The divisions remain and the hostility

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expressed towards one another during the campaign strikingly, our findings showthat 51% of respondents confessed to feeling anger towards people who had voted
differently from them, and 46% even expressed some disgust (Bruter and Harrison2020). This is obviously a concern but also reinforces this perception of emotionalityof the vote and how much people do care about voting and political issues. Perhaps
even more worryingly, is the fact that 12 months after the vote, there is evidence
that this polarisation within society is not subsiding (Van der Eijk and Rose 2017).
These fracture lines are evident across generations (particularly the difference in theway the young voted predominantly to Remain whilst the older generation voted to
Leave) but can also be seen across geographic locations too, with many large urban
cities leading the vote to Remain and many suburban and rural areas preferring tovote Leave. Whilst anti-elite sentiment has been an almost constant theme within the
campaigns of populist parties and this has often filtered through into the discourseof citizens alike, it is perhaps a new and even alarming prospect that these fracturesand divisions have been translated into hostility against other citizens.
Moreover, these divisions within society were also observable across generations.
This generational divide was highlighted by a series of questions that we included
in a survey that we conducted in collaboration with Opinium that probed implicit
and explicit associations with the EU (Bruter and Harrison 2017b). We found thatwhen asked to compare the EU to an animal, older Brits chose a representation of anelephant, whilst younger respondents preferred to associate the EU with a lion. When
asked to compare the EU to a painting, older Brits chose Guernica and the younga Dance by Matisse. Similarly, when we asked for a human trait, the top answer
amongst the old was stupidity and amongst the young intelligence. The symbolismof these contrasted visions should not be dismissed as they offer a real insight into
the juxtaposed visions that British citizens hold. These connotations of the EU shedsome fascinating light upon the divisions within British society and how different
the younger and older generations perceive the EU.
These generational differences were also explicit in the voting behaviour ofyounger and older voters in the recent December 2019 UK General Election. An
insight into the motivations of the young voters has revealed that young citizens
between the ages of 18 and 24 years old—were significantly more motivated bya desire for change, a rejection of the vision of Brexit that the Government was
promoting, and frustration with the current political climate than the rest of thevoting population (Harrison 2020a). Those differences have also given rise to broader
senses of electoral hostility between citizens (Bruter and Harrison 2020), and also,
ultimately of a growing sense of democratic frustration amongst citizens (Harrison
2020b).

8 Hopes and Fears in a Pre- and Post-Brexit Britain

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8 Implications of Brexit Further Afield: A Message
to Heed?
For many years, various groups within our societies feel ‘left behind’ as they struggle
to grasp the volatile and unpredictable political, economic and social context. Within
Europe, populist parties and their politicians have won electoral gains due to theirplatforms that address these concerns and have seen this a political opportunity topush their vision of socio-political transformation. Indeed, many of those who voted
for Brexit will be the first victims of inflation, the first victims of disenfranchisementof the UK from EU law, and of the tax changes that Brexiters are threatening to use
in retaliation for what they call a ‘bad deal’ for the UK.
It is crucial that we now start to recognise that citizens feel more European thanelites give them credit for, but also that their very Europeanness is a major challenge
for the EU because it makes citizens far more critical, and also far more legitimate
in their criticism. Europeans—especially young Europeans—do not feel European
simply because it has ‘benefits’. They feel European because they are, and because
they feel a sense of belonging and ownership of the project it represents. If you are
German, Hungarian, or Portuguese, you can perfectly disagree with—even be furiously critical—of the policies carried out by your Government without questioning
the nation they apply to. European citizens may have indeed reached a point where
precisely because they have appropriated the EU political system, they also want theaccompanying right to be increasingly critical of the actions of those who lead theEuropean Union. Leaders, be they national or European, can no longer hide behindthe fact that they protect European integration to ask for a blank cheque to lead it theway they want any more. Citizens are demanding more democratic accountability
from the EU and it needs to respond if it is restoring faith and trust in the project.
Perhaps, we may see that in the forthcoming years, Brexit may paradoxicallyprovide an opportunity to engage with the challenge and allow it to commit to such a
reinvention. In fact, the ‘counter-revolutions’ witnessed in Austria, the Netherlands,
and France, have reinforced the appetite of citizens for a Europeanised and inclusive
political reinvention rather than a national-populist one. French President EmmanuelMacron has clearly unequivocally staked out his position and placed the EU at theheart of his political project, which has been endorsed by a large majority of French
voters both during the campaign and after his election with confirmation of his visionin the legislative elections.
However, given the complexities of the series of economic, social, migration, andcurrently the Covid-19 crises, that have confronted the EU, it is increasingly evident
that the European project is perhaps facing a critical test of solidarity. The fracturesthat have been evidenced in British society throughout the Referendum campaign
could also feature in other European nations with equal strength and drama, posing
a risk of isolating many people, not least young people and those who live in large
urban areas—to feel as forgotten as their counterparts who voted to leave the EU.
The challenge to simultaneously reassure both sides, whilst providing optimistic hopefor the future is overwhelming. The shockwaves that were triggered by Brexit will134

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continue to reverberate on the global stage as the uncertainty over how the process
will be implemented has not diminished but in fact in some respects has increased.
The geopolitical consequences of Brexit have been felt in countries from the USA
to Australia and everywhere in between. Meanwhile, the Brexit saga continues todominate political life and the continued volatility that is now characteristic of the
British electoral system.

References
Bruter, M., & Harrison, S. (2017a). Understanding the emotional act of voting. Nature Human
Behaviour, 1(1) 1–3.
Bruter, M., & Harrison, S. (2017b). The impact of Brexit on consumer behaviour. Retrieved April
30, 2020, from https://opinium.co.uk/wpcontent/uploads/2016/08/the_impact_of_brexit_on_con
sumer_behaviour_0.pdf.
Bruter, M., & Harrison, S. (2020). Inside the mind of a voter: A new approach to electoral psychology.
Princeton University Press.
Harrison, S. (2020a). A vote of frustration? Young voters in the General Election 2019.
Parliamentary Affairs, 73, 4.
Harrison, S. (2020b). Democratic frustration: Concept, dimensions and behavioural consequences.
Societies, 10(1), 19.
The Guardian. (2017). Retrieved May 02, 2020, fromhttps://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/
jun/24/eu-voting-map-lays-bare-depth-of-division-across-britain.
Van der Eijk, C., & Rose, C. (2017). Is the country coming together after the Brexit Referendum?
Retrieved April 30, 2020, from https://nottspolitics.org/2017/04/25/is-the-country-coming-tog
ether-after-the-brexit-referendum/.

Sarah Harrison is an Assistant Professorial Research Fellow in the Department of Government
at the LSE, and the Deputy-Director of the Electoral Psychology Observatory. Her recent publications include ‘Inside the Mind of a Voter’ (2020, Princeton University Press with Michael Bruter),several articles in Comparative Political Studies, American Behavioural Scientist and Parliamentary Affairs, and she was guest editor of a special issue of Societies on Electoral Psychology. Her
research has received prestigious awards and honourable mentions from the Economic and Social
Research Council, the Michael Young Award, and the political psychology section of the American Political Science Association. She has also advised multiple Electoral Commissions worldwide and worked as an expert or authored reports for multiple prestigious international organisations including the European Commission, Council of Europe, the Committee of the Regions,
the British Council, and the All Parties Parliamentary Group on the Vote at 16 in the British
Parliament.

Chapter 9

European Governance After the Brexit
and the COVID-19 Shocks: A New Phaseof Solidarity and Integration in the EUfrom the Japanese Perspective
Koji Fukuda
Abstract Britain’s decision to withdraw from the EU and the new coronavirus infection “COVID-19” has had a considerable impact not only on the EU itself but also on
Japan and the rest of the world. The purpose of this chapter is to sketch out the dynamic
between the EU and its member states in European Governance post-Brexit and after
the global public health crisis, that accompanies the explosive spread of new-type
pneumonia, to clarify the actual status of the EU. In response to COVID-19, the President of the European Commission, Dr. Von der Leyen is advancing reforms basedon the Green Deal policy and the “Digital Europe” strategy will strongly promote. It
is to be hoped that the EU’s capacity for integration and the relationship of mutual
trust between the organization and its citizens. It will be fundamentally enhanced by
the new framework of social solidarity. The current economic and public health crisis
can only be effectively addressed by coordinated democratic and scientific solutionsat global level in cooperation with citizens. Although the adoption of this range ofmeasures will present the EU with an opportunity to regain a sense of solidarity andto rediscover its “raison-d’être”, it may also be one of the most arduous challenges
that the organization has faced since its foundation.

1 Introduction
The Brexit and the rapid spread of new coronavirus infection have had a considerable
impact not only on the EU itself but also in Japan and the rest of the world. They haveemboldened Euro sceptics in each of the union’s member states, causing concernsof an anti-EU domino effect. European integration is a social experiment at regional
level that has created a shared framework for globalization. As election results invarious European member states have made clear, a split is developing between
European citizens who support the unity or the EU, thus embracing globalization,and those who put their own nation first, anti-globalists who are opposed to European
K. Fukuda (B)
Waseda University, Tokyo, Japane-mail: fukudak@waseda.jp© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
K. Haba and M. Holland (eds.), Brexit and After,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-7969-1_9

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integration. In other words, in the EU forces promoting integration and favoring
solidarity coexist with forces of resistance. This situation stems from the diverse
nature of individual member state governments and domestic frameworks, which
has created tension between supporters of integration and fragmentation.
The purpose of this chapter is to sketch out the dynamics between the EU and its
member states in European governance post-Brexit and after the global public healthcrisis, that accompanies the explosive spread of new-type pneumonia, to clarify theactual status of the EU. With regard to further integration and consider the disparities
and the poverty between nations and classes, caused by this social upheaval divided
my paper into three parts.
First, in order to analyze the political and economic impact of Brexit and the
COVID-19 (New Coronavirus Pandemic) on Europe, I will give a general outlineof neoliberal globalization and European Integration from a new political–economy
perspective. Second, I will discuss the trickledown hypothesis, labor market reforms,
the issue of poverty, and the future of social solidarity in the EU, focusing on thecommunality of entities such as families and small regional societies. This approach
does not merely focus on the relationship between national governments, shareholders, and employers but includes multiple stakeholders, bringing the distributive
relationship between labor and management into the scope of consideration. Third, I
will analyze the disparities within the EU single market, treating them, as a bundle ofdiverse frameworks, Finally, I will recommend a direction for the reform of EU integrated governance, including the adjustment and control of member states domestic
frameworks, employment systems, social security and public health policy systems.

2 Neoliberal Globalization and European Integration
A consideration of the referendum results in Britain, which led to Brexit,1 andthe results of the Presidential and Parliamentary French elections, suggests thatdivisions among citizens, i.e., social cleavages between generations, regions, andincome/education brackets, are common to these member states and are increasingly
manifesting themselves, and that widening disparities and increasing poverty lie
behind the rise of populism and the increasing incidence of home-grown terrorism.2
The multiple risks facing the EU (the Eurozone crisis, the migration/refugee crisis,
and the new coronavirus crisis, etc.) should also be considered in the light of social
exclusion.
The UK instituted a system of social welfare with the Elizabethan Poor Law as
its starting point and provided a model for the world with its creation of a welfare
state following World War II. However, after Margaret Thatcher took power in 1979,
she joined with other neoconservative political leaders, including the US President
Ronald Reagan and Japanese Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone, in advancing a
1 Clarke et al. (2016).
2 Fukuda (2016).

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process of neoliberal globalization. Seeking to realize “small government” in orderto reduce government fiscal responsibilities, within the G7 framework. These leaders
implemented policy packages designed to increase the international competitivenessof corporations, encompassing a number of structural reforms: deregulation, privatization, the reduction of corporate taxes, labor market reforms, the implementationof austerity budgets, and welfare cuts.
In 1985, Jacques Delors, President of the European Commission, published theWhite Paper “Completing the Internal Market”, encouraging the EU to proceed on
its course of neoliberal globalization. Appealing to “Social Europe,” Delors stressedthat both economic policy and social policy were essential to market unification,and that it would be necessary to realize a balance between the two.3 However, theactual EU integration process gave most weight to economic policy, resulting in thefocus on social values gradually receding. Against the background of intensifying
neoliberalism, the EU and its member states embraced a philosophy of market fundamentalism, and an American-style concept, the supremacy of the shareholder, cameto dominate the EU thinking.

3 The Failure of the Trickledown Hypothesis and Labor
Market Reforms
With intensifying globalization under the regime of financial capitalism, there wasminimal consideration of societal benefit as a whole, or for the public good. Shareprice-linked incentives, such as stock options that must be cashed within a fixed time
period, spurred corporate managers to pursue short-term profits. With globalization
as the rallying cry, economic organizations, corporate managers, and investors called
on governments to reduce corporate taxes, shifted their production bases offshore,used tax havens in order to avoid or reduce their tax burden to the greatest extent
possible, and devoted themselves to boosting share prices, reaping enormous profits
in short periods. Placing its faith in the trickledown effect, the concept that as the richget richer, benefit will trickle down to the poorer social strata, the second Abe administration also adopted a policy of supporting big companies and global investors. Oneof the effects of the trickledown theory, a theory often asserted within the neoliberal
framework, is to legitimize the maintenance and expansion of the entrenched interests of the wealthy; however, there is no evidence to support the existence of any
trickledown effect. The Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Eugene Stiglitz has
strongly criticized the fact that under neoliberal policy, the US taxation and regulatory systems, rather than increasing welfare throughout society as a whole, havebeen politically manipulated in a manner that impoverishes 99% of US citizens. The
fact that no trickledown effect has occurred in Japan, or in the European member
states which implemented neoliberal reforms, was demonstrated by a research report
3 Fukuda (2003).

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based on a survey of the actual status of the OECD in December 2014,4 making dear
the theory’s failure.5
A consideration of the social reality of European member states shows that labormarket reforms in each country that emphasized “labor flexibility” and prioritizedemployer profits have not led to employment creation and have resulted in a lackof social protection and safety net. As a result, economic growth has diminished,
and unemployment has increased. Robert Boyer, an economist of the “regulation
school,” has pointed out that policies designed to increase labor market fluidity havebeen a total failure in European member states with poor social protection.6 European
member states experiencing debt crises applied severe fiscal austerity programs in
exchange for the provision of fiscal support by the troika (the EU, the IMF, and the
ECB), but the expected fiscal reconstruction has not manifested itself, there is, rather,concern that the economies will fall into a state of deflation, referred to as “Japanization” due to Japan’s unsuccessful struggle with its deflationary economy since 1998.
In Japan, around 40% of university graduates’ experience difficulty in finding regularand stable employment; unwillingly forced to take irregular employment, their low
incomes make it difficult to form life plans, including plans for to marry and havechildren. The impoverishment of young workers is weakening the ability to secure
funds for social security and is even generating fears regarding the collapse of thesocial security system itself. The result of the implementation of common neoliberal policies in Japan, the USA, and Europe against the background of increasing
globalization has been the magnification of social disparities. What this means isthat while some of the wealthy with unearned income may have become wealthier,huge number of workers have been laid off or experienced pay cuts. Working conditions have declined, and workers have had no choice but to take low-wage work,
contributing to social destabilization. Moreover, since 2016, a number of papers withtitles such as “The Death of Social Europe”7 have been published which requestion
the rationale for the existence of the EU. Enabling us to understand this situation,
the next section will look at the problem of economic disparities in relation to fiscal
expenditure in European member states, via an international comparison based on
OECD statistics.

4 Cross (2017), Fukuda (2014).
5 Fukuda (2018).
6 Ibid.
7 Ewing (2017), Brirkinshaw and Biondi (2017).

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4 Poverty Trends in EU Member States and the Movement
Toward a New Phase of EU Integration, Beyond Social
Cleavages After the Brexit and the New Coronavirus
Pandemic
Following the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008, economic and financial crises
intensified globally, and the effects of the Eurozone crisis, originating in Greece, arestill being felt. Furthermore, it is feared that the new coronavirus crises after 2020
will cause economic damage that far exceeds the Lehman shock and lead to the Great
Depression. The negative effects of globalization have extended throughout Europe,and as a result, economic growth has slowed, which together with declining birthrates and aging populations, is making it fiscally difficult to continue to provide social
security, medical and the other social services even in the traditionally wealthier European member states. NPM reforms, which reconsider the powers of administrative
authorities, have been pushed through in many member states even as the scope andprovision of social services have been narrowed down. There has been a trend toward
the outsourcing and privatization of services, representing a change from public assistance to mutual assistance, or even self-assistance. As a result, new-type pneumonia
crises caused medical collapse in Italy and France. The OECD researchers haveanalyzed the relationship between trends in the Gini coefficient, macroeconomics,
and government expenditure, and compared the percentage of GDP represented byfiscal expenditure (by purpose) from the governments of the major EU member states
and Japan (see Figs. 1 and 2).
The OECD indexed social security-related public and private expenditure under
the category social expenditure,” and conducted international comparisons (seeFig. 3).
What these data show, first, is that there is no correlation between economic
growth and the size of government. If we focus next on factors related to social
justice (economic disparities and poverty), a clear correlation emerges. Neoliberalism
stresses that if social security is made increasingly comprehensive and governments
become too large, this will lead to fiscal collapse. However, in the USA and Japan,
the Gini coefficient (an index of inequality in disposable income) and the relative
poverty rate are high, public debt is becoming increasingly severe, and disparities
are growing. Comparing Gini coefficients, the coefficients for Japan, at 0.341, andBritain, at 0.349, are both considerably higher than the OECD average of 0.32, andpoverty among the elderly is immense (see Fig. 2).
Not only is Japan’s society aging, but the systems in place are extremely inefficient from the perspective of preventing poverty. In northern and western European
countries, such as Germany and Sweden, which practice big government, Gini coefficients are generally low, with economic disparities and poverty controlled. There
are few deaths in Germany and recovered relatively quickly even in times of New
Coronavirus crises. The same was true in Estonia, Iceland, Lithuania, and Latvia (seeFigs. 4 and 5). The management of poverty and economic disparities is dependenton whether or not a government is able to display appropriate government functions.

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Fig. 1 Income inequality increased in most OECD countries. Source OECD (2014), FOCUS on
inequality and growth, OECD December 2014 https://www.oecd.org/social/Focus-Inequality-andGrowth-2014.pdf, accessed 3 March, 2018

Fig. 2 The economic recovery has not reduced inequality

Fig. 3 International comparison Gini coefficients. Source GLOBAL NOTE, OECD Income Distribution Database (IDD): Gini, poverty, income, methods and concepts. https://www.globalnote.jp/
post-12038.html, accessed on 6 June, 2018

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Fig. 4 Social spending public % of GDP, 2016 social expanditure: aggregated data. Source https://data.oecd.org/socialexp/social-spending.html, accessed on 6 June, 2017

Fig. 5 Comparison of the infections and deaths per 100,000 population in the EU and UK (asof May 27, 2020: ECDC). Source European Centre for Disease prevention and Control (2020),
COVID-19 situation update for the EU/EEA and the UK, as of 31 May 2020. ECDC: https://www.
ecdc.europa.eu/en/geographical-distribution-2019-ncov-cases

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Factors related to disparities and poverty are strongly correlated with small governments; under small government, both the Gini coefficient and the relative poverty
rate are high, indicating a tendency towards the impoverishment of citizens underregimens of fiscal austerity. By contrast, big government is largely successful incontrolling disparities and poverty. In sum, we can assert that in countries with low
Gini coefficients and countries with low economic disparity, the poverty rate is low,with these countries resistant to divisions among citizens and avoiding populism.8
In the USA as well as Italy, where economic disparities are large, there were many
victims of the New Coronavirus Pandemic.
The elections in Europe have largely been completed, signaling that the EU integration process is entering a new phase and experiencing a demand for the strengthening of social policies and policies promoting social cohesion in order to control
economic disparities and poverty, and the implementation of reforms in order topromote income redistribution at a regional level through public policy. It will bevital to adjust, coordinate, and achieve cooperation between EU policy and domestic
policy, realizing a policy that controls disparities and division within the populace.
What will be required in order to increase the EU’s ‘integration ability’ will be theinvolvement of not only the first and second sectors but also of the third, civic sector,
the European civil society, in the EU policy process. These three sectors need tocreate a system that bolsters solidarity at the regional level and facilitates the implementation of fiscal policy, increasing the income of the middle class. These measures
will generate a dynamism that increases consumption, creating a virtuous cycle witheconomic growth.

5 COVID-19-Related Policies and Coordinated Approachin the EU/Member States for Restoring Freedomof Movement
Since the novel coronavirus epidemic, later named COVID-19, was first reported in
December 2019 in Wuhan, China, this new form of pneumonia has spread beyond
national borders worldwide, posing a significant threat to humanity. According toa study by John Hopkins University, as of June 3, 2020, there were 6.4 million
infected people worldwide and more than 380,000 dead. In mid-January 2020, theWHO stated that there was “no evidence of coronavirus transmission from person
to person.” However, it became clear on March 12 that human-to-human transmission had indeed taken place, and the WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom
Ghebreyesus declared that the new corona infection was officially a “pandemic.”
The new-variant pneumonia has continued to rage across Europe since March
2020 and is having a serious impact on society and the economy there. The UK
Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who finalized Brexit at the end of January 2020, washimself infected with the new corona virus in March. Fortunately, after treatment,
8 Ramswell (2018).

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which included several days in an intensive care unit, he was discharged and able toresume his duties.
The large-scale cross-border movement of people has become a reality since
the creation of the Schengen Area, which comprises 22 EU Member States andseveral EEA countries that are not EU members. All these countries are bound by
the Schengen Agreement, which abolishes immigration checks to form one economic
space. However, with the spread of the new corona infection, each Schengen country
was forced to strictly curtail such movement by introducing lockdowns, entry bans,and other border blocking measures. Indeed, with the reinstatement of border inspections, the Schengen Agreement is now only allowed to operate in the event of “exceptional circumstances.” It can be said that the above-mentioned measures present a
serious threat to the idea of and the “raison d’être” for European integration.
First, an overview of the legal basis of infectious disease control and public healthpolicies in the EU is necessary, starting with the Single European Act in July 1987
on Health (Article 100a). It is important to consider Public health policy (Articles
3 and 129) as stipulated by the treaty on European Union (Maastricht), “Disease
prevention and elimination of health hazards” (Article 152) as described in the EU(Amsterdam) Treaty in May 1999, and the role of the European Centre for Disease
Prevention and Control (ECDC), which was set up in May 2005. The impact of the
EU (Lisbon) Treaty and that of the European Charter of Fundamental Rights (Article35), which came into force in December 2009, also need to be assessed. The Lisbon
Treaty is highly significant as it designated public health policy as a “shared power”
jurisdiction area between the EU and its Member States.
Second, the EU’s first policy response to and measure against COVID-19, theactivation of the “EU Civil Protection Mechanism” in January 2020, needs to be
discussed. During the coronavirus outbreak which affected the occupants of the
Diamond Princess cruise liner in Yokohama, Japan in February 2020, the Directorate
General for Civil Protection and Humanitarian Assistance (ECHO) became the corefor coordination among Member States including Italy, Germany, France, the UK
and Ireland, resulting in 71 EU citizens being returned to European countries on
February 21.
Third, it should be noted that the EU has provided a valuable contribution to
the international community during the COVID-19 crisis. For example, via joint
investment between the EU central authorities and the Member States, it has provided
relief supplies such as medical devices and personal protective equipment to China.
It has also provided financial assistance to the value of e114 million to the WHO,and e15 million to Africa (European Commission, Press release, 24 Feb. 2020,
COVID-19).
Fourth, regarding the EU’s measures to support its Member States, The European
Commission set up the COVID-19 Headquarters on March 2. In the European Parliament in April, the President of the European Commission, Dr. Ursula Gertrud Von
der Leyen apologized on behalf of the EU to Italy, where the spread of the infection
had been particularly rapid, for failing to provide the necessary assistance. Following
that, the EU set aside e100 million to fund vaccine research and e37 billion for a“Corona Corresponding Investment Initiative.” In addition, the European Central

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Bank (ECB), in order to respond to the profound risk to monetary union, provided
e7500 billion for a new Pandemic Emergency Purchase Program (PEPP). Furthermore, “the European Commission has pledged e300 million to Gavi, the Vaccine
Alliance, for the period 2021–2025.”9 According to the EU, the total amount dedicated to emergency economic stimulus measures is equivalent to 7.3% of Euro area
GDP.
Finally, let us compare the EU countries’ COVID-19 policy responses. The
number of Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests varies from country to country,
and the actual number of infected people cannot be accurately determined. The causeof death has not been consistently identified in terms of a fatality rate (the numberof fatalities per 100,000 people), and it is not uncommon for pneumonia to be given
as the name of the disease. It is simply not possible to compare the number of deaths
and the mortality rate per 100,000 population across the various Member States.
However, the mortality rate can be estimated to some extent and may serve as anindicator of medical exhaustion and medical collapse in each country. As of May
27, 2020, fatality rates for selected European countries are as follows; Belgium 82.8,
Spain 58.1, England 57.7, Italy 55.2, France 42.9, Sweden 43.2, Germany 10.2, Thereis a particularly marked difference between 5.1 in Estonia and 1.2 in Latvia.10
There are various causes of this mortality gap, including differences in politicaland medical systems, differences in bioethics, differences in virus types (S type, K
type, L type, etc.), differences in genetic factors, and differences in lifestyle andhabits. It may be beneficial at this point to investigate the factors described byProfessor Shinya Yamanaka, the Nobel Prize winning scientist and academic, as“Factor X”. Regarding Scandinavian countries, only Sweden experienced a highfatality rate due to differences in bioethics, such as the attitude to euthanasia, andbecause the severe urban blockades set up in other member countries were notintroduced there. The fact that shops, elementary schools, and secondary schools
continued to function as normal might have had an adverse effect on the country’s
infection rate. As a background factor, it should be mentioned that in Nordic countries such as Finland and Estonia, e-government, remote work and IT-based work areoperating successfully, and both the infection rate and the fatality rate appear to be
low.11

9 Coronavirus Global Response: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_20_989,

3 June, 2020.
10 ECDC (2020) COVID-19 situation update for the EU/EEA and the UK, as of 31 May 2020,

https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/cases-2019-ncov-eueea, accessed on 3 June, 2020.
11 https://eueuropaeeas.fpfis.slb.ec.europa.eu:8084/headquarters/headquarters-homepage/764
67/%e6, 3 June, 2020.

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6 Conclusion
The EU mechanism is a hybrid system of government that fuses with, and functions
in tandem with, the government systems of member states. Its particular characteristic can be described as “multi-level governance.” In order to resolve issues ofpoverty and economic disparity in EU member states, we can point to the importanceof maintaining and strengthening integration through network governance, via thehybrid EU system, while maintaining economic systems based on market principles.
Involving European civil society in the process of integration, rebuilding the solidarity of the union based on the principle of communality, of either a family or small
region, is needed.
The discussion above has shown that countries with low levels of economic
disparity (low Gini coefficients) feature comprehensive social security systems,
a high level of investment in education and public investment, and low poverty
rates. Compared with continental European countries, the USA, Britain, and Japan
have high Gini coefficients despite the low unemployment rates, high poverty rates,
and a high degree of social inequality. Additionally, analysis of the relationshipbetween trends in economic growth rates and economic disparities has shown that
it is precisely neoliberal reforms and policies based on market fundamentalism thathave worsened the fiscal problems in the considered countries. The facts are that, asa result of neoliberal reforms, the USA has become a debtor nation facing the possibility of fiscal collapse and Japan’s tax revenues have been drastically reduced, its
deflationary economy further indicative of the fact that financial factors have a significant effect on economic disparity and poverty. As Joseph E. Stiglitz has pointed out,
the reduction of poverty and the elimination of disparities do not only promote social
stability; fair income distribution boosts people’s desire to work and their desire tosave, spurring economic growth.
The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy,
Josep Bourrell observed that “COVID-19 will reshape our world. We do not yet know
the crisis will end. But we can be sure that by the time it does, our world will lookvery different.”12
In response to COVID-19, the President of the European Commission, Dr. Von derLeyen is advancing reforms based on the Green Deal policy and the “Digital Europe”
strategy in line with UN SDGs. The aim is to promote a circular economy and secure
a competitive advantage for European industry through the global acceptance ofEU regulations. She will strongly promote “a European Green Deal” and “a Europe
fit for the digital age.” It is to be hoped that the EU’s capacity for integration andthe relationship of mutual trust between the organization and its citizens will befundamentally enhanced by the new framework of social solidarity (see: Urusula vonder Leyen, A Union that strives for more. My agenda for Europe). It will be essential

12 Ibid.

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to redesign taxation and social security systems to make economic growth and income
redistribution possible, and, looking towards the dispersion of risk through solidarity,
the realization of sustainable and inclusive growth that benefits every member ofsociety.
Many EU institutions have launched measures to support Member States andEuropean citizens, including the EEAS’s “COVID-19 Pandemic: European Regulatory Response”, ECHO’s Cyber Security, the COVID-19 Hacker Countermeasures,and Europol’s Corona Crisis-Related Crime Countermeasures.13 It is necessary todemonstrate the purpose of the existence of the EU by ensuring the objectivity of themedia, promptly publicizing the scientific facts related to COVID-19 objectively, all
the while insisting on accuracy and transparency. The current economic and publichealth crisis can only be effectively addressed by coordinated democratic and scientific solutions at global level in cooperation with citizens. Although the adoption ofthis range of measures will present the EU with an opportunity to regain a sense ofsolidarity and to rediscover its “raison-d’être,” it may also be one of the most arduous
challenges that the organization has faced since its foundation.

References
Brirkinshaw, P. J., & Biondi, A. (2017). Britain alone! (pp. 233–255). Wolters Kluwer.
Clarke, H. D., Goodwin, M., & Whiteley, P. (Eds.). (2016). Brexit: Why Britain voted to leave theEuropean Union. Cambridge University Press.
Cross, D. (Ed.). (2017). The politics of crisis in Europe (pp. 221–235). Cambridge University Press.
Ewing, D. K. (2015). The death of social Europe. King’s Law Journal. Online 23 Jun 2015, print(pp.1757-8442)
Fukuda, K. (2003). Institutional reform and European governance. In K. Fukuda, et al. (Eds.),
European governance after nice (p. 47). Routledge.
Fukuda, K. (2014). The global economic crisis and the future of labor market policy regime:
Implications for economic governance in the European Union and Japan. In H. Magara (Ed.),
Economic crises and policy regimes. E&E.
Fukuda, K. (2016). European governance after the “Brexit” shock: From the Japanese perspective.
USJI Voice, 18.
Fukuda, K. (2018). Growth, employment and social security governance in the EU and Japan. In
Policy change under new democratic capitalism (p. 121). Routledge.
Ramswell, P. Q. (2018). Euroscepticism and the rising threat from the left and right (pp. 39–74).
Lexington Books.

Koji Fukuda is Professor of International Public Administration at the School of Political Scienceand Economics, Waseda University in Japan. He is also Director of the Waseda Institute for European Union Studies, President of Japan Association of Global Governance and former President of
EUSA Japan. He received a Ph.D. in Political Science at Doshisha University. He served Research

13 European External Action Service (2020), EU News 66/2020, 23/03/2020 Coronavirus Global

Response: https://ec.europaeas.fpfis/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_20_989, 3 June, 2020.

9 European Governance After the Brexit and the COVID-19 Shocks …

147

Fellow at the College of Europe in Bruges. He co-edited the European Governance After Nice
(Routledge, 2003) His is the author of many books including Envisioning Reform: Enhancing UN
Accountability in the Twenty-first Century (UNU Press, 2009), The European Union and Japan(Ashgate, 2015), Economic Crises and Policy Regimes (E&E, 2016), Policy Change under New
Democratic Capitalism (Routledge, 2018).

Chapter 10

Brexit: Reasons and Domestic
Consequences
Miguel Angel Vecino

Abstract Brexit is the main challenge for the survival of the EU since the 50’s. But
something went wrong from the very beginning of the access of UK to the main
experiment of unity of European countries. First, Britons never felt “European” asany other continental country could feel. Secondly, UK had a historical problem with
Ulster and Scotland. Thirdly, EU could to a certain extent hide the inner tension of
the Kingdom. The English, Irish and Scottish saw the EU in a different way. For
Northern Irish, EU meant the disappearance of inner borders, the way to put an
end of the endemic violence in the province. For Edinburgh, joining the EU was tocounterbalance the tête-à-tête with London. But all those screen that prevented UK
to face reality have been scattered with Brexit, and Brexit in itself is the result of areality: English people don’t feel European, and the Scottish, Irish and English do
not like each other. Brexit has deeply divided the UK.

For 3 years now, Europe has suffered the agonising separation of the UK fromthe European Union (EU) which had entered, after strong opposition from France,
46 years ago. Neither Europe nor the world are the same as in 1973, when with
Ireland and Denmark, UK entered the then European Community; the economy, thestates themselves and the international scenario have changed. But it seems that proBrexit British voters are still thinking as they did in 1973.
However, there is one aspect of BREXIT which has not received enough attention:
the internal consequences it will have; not only socially and economically speaking
but also for the very existence of the UK. It is clear that the exit/departure will giverise to two immediate situations: the rethinking of independence by Scotland andthe question of the Good Friday agreements in Northern Ireland. The first is latentin Scotland, but the second is much more serious because if the UK leaves, theborder between the Republic of Ireland and Ulster or Northern Ireland will have tobe reinstalled, and that border poses a very serious danger of rekindling the civil war.

M. A. Vecino (B)Madrid, Spaine-mail: mavecinoq@hotmail.com© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
K. Haba and M. Holland (eds.), Brexit and After,
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1 Background
General De Gaulle was rightly opposed to the UK entering the European Community because he considered that London was not sincerely pro-European, and thatthe British wished to prevent the European Community from becoming a potential
competitor to the USA. There may be some reason in President De Gaulle’s opposition, but it is no less true that London had its own interests, and the European
Economic Community (EEC) was opening a huge area of free trade, ideal for the
British economy. The UK had created in 1960, alongside eight other states which
did not wish to be part of the EEC, the EFTA (European Free Trade Association).
It quickly became clear that EFTA could not cope with the ambitious projects andsuccesses of the EEC, meaning that, and as a consequence, in 1961, the UK changed
sides and requested, for the first time, its inclusion in the EEC, which was not possible
to negotiate until General De Gaulle left power in 1969.
The difference of opinion that separated London from Brussels since the beginning, was a miscalculation from both sides, who did not foresee the obvious: theevolution of Europe. From the outset, London fully agreed to be part of a large andpromising free trade zone, but nothing more. London never considered the possible
deepening in the construction of a truly united Europe, and neither did the British
have a truly European conscience: the history of a people is not changed by signing atreaty. From the moment, London realized that the other members of the EEC really
did believe and wanted a greater integration, it understood that its mission would be
to prevent this further integration of members, at all costs.
With Mrs. Thatcher a double strategy was deployed: on the one hand, the opposition of anything that was not simply true free trade and, on the other, to recover
the competencies that the UK had given up until then: on November 30, 1979, aftera disastrous summit in Dublin, Mrs. Thatcher launched her famous slogan: ‘I want
my money back’. It became clear that London had become THE enemy of the EU
inside in the EU; those who were forced to work with the British in coordination
meetings thereafter, understood the magnitude of the danger posed to the future of the
EU when one of its members continually dynamite, for any reason, every common
initiative. Either the UK would bend to the wishes of the EU, or it would leave.
Thus, at the initiative of Mrs. Thatcher, an anti-European movement in the UK
began, based more on a nostalgia for the Empire than on the reality of the moment;
Mrs. Thatcher managed to recover not only her money but also many of the competencies that had been transferred to Brussels. Mrs. Thatcher wanted to return to the
UK that had existed before World War II.
After the end of the bipolar world, the international scene began to change andthe weight of the old great powers vanished before the emergence of new states like
China and India and the rebirth of what was believed to be the moribund Russia.
The economic world returned to pure capitalism and the division of labour made,for example, the origins of the parts of a car as diverse as the states of the European
Union. London had to recognize that, despite its permanent frontal opposition tomost European initiatives and its self-marginalization of major European projects,

10 Brexit: Reasons and Domestic Consequences151

the EU would continue to move forward. The time had come to be completely in orout, because the situation of being ‘in’ or ‘out’ à la carte, was already unsustainable
in Brussels, and in the UK.
I will not refer here to the campaign for or against Brexit, because it is known wellenough and there is even an excellent TV movie (‘Brexit: the Uncivil war’, 2019,
directed by Toby Haynes) that narrates, with great authenticity, the manipulation of
public opinion achieved by BREXIT supporters, such as Boris Johnson and Nigel
Farage, who, by the way, repeatedly announced the death of the European Union.
Both made totally false statements about the cost of the EU to the UK, as Farage
himself acknowledged, after the victory of the Referendum. But behind economic
reasons, there is undoubtedly a psychological longing for the long-awaited past.

2 The Yearning of the Empire
Of course, the very serious economic, social, and political crisis that plagues Europe(and the world) affects the UK. As with other European countries, it is the population
furthest from the urban centres where the reactions have been the most radical. As
always in history, a scapegoat must be found in order to explain the negative situation,and in the UK, but more especially in England, it has logically been ‘the foreigner’.
But who is the foreigner in the UK? The answer will clarify the rejection of the EU.
The foreigner is not the immigrant of the Old Empire, the Indians, Pakistanis, etc.
Because they are all part of the Empire, still alive in the history and mentality of
millions of English citizens. The foreigner is the Pole, the Hungarian, the Bulgarian,the Romanian, etc., that is to say the immigrant from Central East Europe and in acertain way, the immigrant from the West too, but to a much lesser extent, those whohave no historical roots in the UK.
Therefore, the reaction against immigrants is the reaction against part of Europe,
not against all ‘immigrants’. In the UK, in general, and in England in particular, withthe exception of the Irish of the IRA and its armed confrontation with the UK, therelationship with the immigrants of the Empire is not at all like that which exists inFrance with respect to immigrants of the old colonies. We must give the British credit
that among them there is no such absolute rejection of the natives of their colonies,
there is no such contempt, and if there is, they do not show it.
As I said, this is because the Empire is still alive in the minds of many English
people, who still dream of the Union Jack and God Save the Queen, which to themmeans something because they refer to a there history. Now, concerning the EU, it
is difficult to create a patriotic spirit talking about the price of vegetables or fishingzones, however important they may be. It is no less true that a large number ofBritons, mainly among the voters of the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats,
realize that the imperial chimera is gone forever. Talking with the regional leadersof England, mainly from the industrial north, there is a striking difference in how
they see the present and the future between them is clearly, in no way negotiable.

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The Conservatives, more so in predominantly agricultural regions, and the ‘Imperial’
immigrants, are radically against the EU.
Thus, for example, they consider it absurd (and to some extent it is) that a traveller
from Canada, who is part of the Commonwealth and has the same head of state, ismore foreign to all intents and purposes than a Bulgarian. The Imperial mentality,
recognizing that the UK is no longer the world superpower, being convinced itself thatleaving the EU will be a return to the Imperial past, as the old colonies and domains
will always be open to reviving this ‘special relationship’. It is a feeling similar to thatexisting in France, with the ‘grandeur’: for many and despite the evidence, France
remains a great power on the same level as the greatest. If France has always lived
under the glory of Louis XIV and Napoleon, the UK remains blinded by the sun ofQueen Victoria, which is only open to criticism when that glory or that sun, prevents
one seeing the reality of the moment. It is a return to a nationalism that in the UK
focuses on the rejection of the EU.
This does not deny that even among Eurosceptics, there is a recognition of what
the EU has actually contributed to the UK. Thus, for example, the rector of a verylarge university in the north of England told me that he was for Brexit, but that hewould be very sorry if he lost the U.E funds for research in universities.

3 Extremist Nationalism
Both in Northern Ireland and in Scotland, there is a great fear of the consequences of
Brexit, although for different reasons, but in both countries, the political class agrees
for 90% (exception among the Democratic Unionist Party—DUP—of Arlene Foster
in Ulster, and a part of the conservatives in Scotland) that London cares absolutely
nothing about Ulster or Scotland. Moreover, political leaders from Northern Ireland
told me, more or less clearly, that London would be very happy if the Irish left the UK,
because for the English, the only thing that Ulster meant was the burden of transferring
12 billion pounds a year to feed the country’s unsustainable economy. They did notthink anything different in Scotland. In both cases, the wish for independence proves
to be a heavyweight in deciding their future.
Historically, Scotland has felt completely neglected by London, which has always
ignored Scottish interests, much more than those of Northern Ireland, and also has
not complied with agreements to return competencies to Scotland, a problem thatwill be aggravated with Brexit. Constitutionally speaking, Edinburgh is very awarethat the London Government is not superior to the Scottish Government, but only theWestminster parliament is superior to the Scottish parliament. In a first independence
referendum in Scotland, on September 18, 2014, the ‘no’ to independence won
precisely for the same reason that now the ‘yes’ would win: Scotland has a significant
amount of immigration from Europe, mainly Italians, Romanians, Poles, among
others. Being a very sparsely populated country (just over 5 million), immigration isessential for physical survival; but it is no less true that the Scottish economy revolves
essentially around salmon, whisky and oil, the latter of increasingly low profitability.

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Closing the door to its exports to the EU is equivalent to drowning its economy. For
this reason, the Edinburgh government is making a huge effort to develop businesscontacts between Scotland and other economic centres in the West.
In Scotland, legal immigrants have the right to vote in a referendum and therefore,
when independence was proposed in 2014, supporters of staying in the UK argued thatleaving would mean leaving the EU, which was true, and that caused EU immigrants
to vote against the idea. Today this is quite the opposite: to remain in the UK is toleave the EU, and as there is also no strong immigration from the former ‘Empire’,unlike England, contrary to independence, it is foreseeable that independence will
prevail with around 60% of the votes.
However, the Scottish government has frequently repeated that, unlike the Catalan
independence movement, it will not do anything illegal and therefore will not unilaterally declare independence. Indeed, doing so would mean starting off on the wrong
foot in regard to the European scene, which would not support unilateral declarationsof independence. In this regard, the then Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Josep
Borrell, currently in charge of the EU’s External Relations, declared in November
2018 that Spain would recognize an independent Scotland if independence werelegally obtained, a statement that was collected in numerous Spanish and European newspapers. London strongly protested the statement and although the Spanish
Minister did not repeat it, he never officially rectified it either. Certainly, some states
would welcome Scottish independence, because this would undoubtedly have an
extremely debilitating effect on the UK and rivalries in the EU are still latent because
history is not erased simply by signing a treaty. However, the States of the European
Union do not encourage Scottish independence either, because it is feared that an
explicit and rapid recognition of the new State and its immediate entry into the European Union would be a bad example for other irredentism on the continent, andespecially in some Central European States, in the Balkans and without a doubt in
Spain with Catalonia as well as the Basque Country. Thus, the scenario that may
arise for Scotland could be a recognition of its legally obtained independence, but
without being immediately admitted to the European Union, because, in addition,
Scotland is not a country with strong economic resources and would be more of aburden for the EU budget. Scotland could stay for a time in no man’s land, but not
so much because of its economic weakness or because it had to adapt its legislation
to community rules, but because of the political consequences.
In Northern Ireland, the problem is completely different because it is not a matter ofsecession and creation of a new independent State to join another equally constituted
State. From the point of view of International Law and the European Union, it would
be a change of sovereignty that, in addition, would only affect the Republic of Ireland
since the United Kingdom would no longer be a member of the U.E. Therefore, froman international point of view, the Irish case does not pose the same problems as
the Scottish one, which does not mean that it is not equally dangerous because
other states may raise the same issue. To take just one example, the Irish case could
eventually be argued by the Transylvanian Hungarians, under Romanian sovereignty
after World War I, on ethnic and nationalistic grounds, at especially difficult times
for the relationship between Budapest and the U.E. for the attacks on democratic

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principles by the Hungarian president. In Europe, irredentism is present in many
areas and in many mentalities.
All political leaders in Northern Ireland, except Arlene Foster (president of the
D.U.P.) are convinced that the restoration of the border between the Republic of
Ireland will ruin the Good Friday Agreement (April 10, 1998) which ended thearmed conflict in Ulster, making the return to violence inevitable. Therefore, for allparties (except the D.U.P.) between the choice of separating from the UK and keeping
the peace or, separating from the EU and returning to a confrontational situation, they
will undoubtedly choose the former. It is a matter of survival: of not returning to thehorror of bombs and murders. Still today, there are neighbourhoods divided by walls,
in which Catholics or Protestants cannot enter. Raising the border again would restart
the civil war, and even moderate unionists are not in favour of this alternative.
However, the solution is not at all clear. On the one hand, if there were a referendumin Northern Ireland, it would not really be valid if the result were a consecration of
the Catholic-Protestant divide, the former voting massively for the separation fromthe UK and joining the Republic of Ireland, and the Protestants unanimously voting
against separating from the UK. Even if the results were clear percentage wise in
one sense or another, the problem would not be solved, but rather would reflect
the extremely dangerous social divide between Catholics and Protestants. For thereferendum not to be the spark that set Ulster aflame again, the result would haveto show that a share of no less than 30% of the Protestant population supported
reunification with the Republic of Ireland. However, that would not mean at all thatthe transition would be made without violence, because according to all politicalforces (except the D.U.P.), it is no longer the I.R.A. (Irish Republican Army, Catholic)but the order of Orange (Protestant) which will not accept the separation from theUK.
Although the Irish of the Republic voted overwhelmingly (over 90%) in favourof the Good Friday agreements and another referendum would not be necessary inprinciple, reunification would impose a heavy economic burden on the Republic,
since the 12 billion pounds that the UK now transfers to the Ulster economy, theywould have to be, at least for a long period of time, contributed by Dublin, which isa very significant sum for an economy that in 2019 had a GDP of 405 bn $ (1$ =0.96 euros), and currently, 1.2 billion euros are already planned in case of a Brexit
without agreement.

4 Conclusion
The immigration of Eastern Europe and the normative power of Brussels have becomea problem internal to Britain, in which the discussion is not about the future of therelationship with Brussels, but the very existence of the UK. The Scottish and theNorthern Irish do not share with the English the Imperial idea and see the futurewith more realism. Brexit supporters remain convinced that the glory of the past
will return as England remains an indispensable pillar of the world and, above all,that it is the EU which loses with Brexit: just before the agreement presented by10 Brexit: Reasons and Domestic Consequences

155

Theresa May was voted on in Westminster, a Tory deputy interviewed at the BBC
said, ‘Nobody has to worry because in three weeks’ time we will have the entire
European Commission at the gates of Parliament begging us on their knees to stay’.
It did not happen. In April 2019 I asked Arlene Foster if they had reflected on theconsequences of Brexit, to which she replied: ‘Yes, and we are very worried about
the future of EU, but if you decide to leave, do not expect us to save you from sinking
into misery’. From her point of view, it was an upside-down world: it was the EUthat separated from the UK and it was the European economy that would sink.
The truth is that most British people have never really felt deeply European. For
them, the continent, as in the imperial era, is still isolated by fog. But that time isover, and many English citizens have not realised it.

Miguel Angel Vecino studied five years of Law in the University Complutense (Madrid, Spain)
and other five years studying History of International Relations (Prof. Bruno Neveu) in the École
Pratique d’Hautes Études IV section. Sorbonne (Paris, France). After, he had two masters, one inconstitutional history and a second one in constitutional theory, both by the Centre for Constitutional Studies of the Spanish Senate. he was one the three candidates selected among 3.500, fora post in the Secretary of Ministers of the European Union. he passed the exams for the Spanish
Diplomatic Corps. He has published more than 300 articles in the Spanish press and specialised
reviews, and participate in round tables, conferences and seminars, always on European subjects.
He has been preparing since 2001 a History of the Balance of Power (XV–XX siècles) and a bookon the Intellectual Origin of Soviet Foreign Policy. Married, two children.

Part IIIBrexit and After: Influence on otherCountries: Oceania, China and India

Chapter 11

Shifting Frames: Images of Brexit in NZ
and Possible Consequences
Serena Kelly, Franzisca Doser, and Natalia Chaban

Abstract Britain’s referendum decision (Brexit) to leave the European Union (EU)in June 2016 resulted in political and economic uncertainty in Britain, Europe andaround the world. The unprecedented scale of the UK’s decision to leave the EU anduncertainty that followed the referendum meant that much of the speculation was
emotionally loaded. Adding to the emerging research field of tracing emotions ininternational relations, our study of international reaction towards Brexit analyses the‘emotive’ reactions while applying image, political psychology and communication
theories in order to understand how the UK’s decision to leave the EU has been
framed and understood in one of Britain’s closest allies—New Zealand. Working
with five hypotheses, we find that New Zealand authors reported Brexit from a more
emotional perspective than their British counterparts and that the election of Donald
Trump served to further entrench a negative emotionality towards Brexit by New
Zealand journalists.

Britain’s referendum decision (Brexit) to leave the European Union (EU) in June
2016 resulted in political and economic uncertainty in Britain, Europe and aroundthe world. Resultantly, there has been a great deal of speculation about the possible
outcome of the Article 50 negotiations. The unprecedented scale of the UK’s decision
to leave the EU and uncertainty that followed the referendum meant that much of the
speculation was emotionally loaded. The terms ‘irrationality’ and ‘emotion’ havebeen used extensively by commentators reflecting on the prolonged and painful
period of exit negotiations, the turbulent ride of the UK’s government since mid-2016
which witnessed three Prime Ministers, internal and external reaction to the UK’svote and its subsequent course of action. Our study of international reaction towards
S. Kelly (B) · F. Doser · N. Chaban
University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealande-mail: Serena.kelly@canterbury.ac.nz
F. Dosere-mail: franziedoser@gmail.com
N. Chabane-mail: Natalia.chaban@canterbury.ac.nz© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
K. Haba and M. Holland (eds.), Brexit and After,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-7969-1_11

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Brexit analyses the ‘emotive’ reactions while applying image, political psychology
and communication theories in order to understand how the UK’s decision to leave theEU has been framed and understood in one of Britain’s closest allies—New Zealand.
We add to the emerging tradition of emotions in international relations (IR).1
Theoretically, we position our inquiry on an interdisciplinary intersection ofseveral conceptual frameworks through engaging with EU perceptions theorisationsof spatial and temporal factors2,3 and considering how global, regional, EU- andUK-specific, and local filters shape responses to short-term and dramatic events.
The resulting framing, intentional or not, ‘provides meaning to an unfolding strip ofevents, weaving a connection among them’4 and contributes to images of international partners in cognitive and emotive terms. Our interest towards emotion invites
links to the field of political psychology which applies ‘what is known about human
psychology to the study of politics’5 and ‘concerns the behaviour of individuals
within a specific political system’.6
Our study focuses on so-called ‘top-down’ dynamics—when ‘powerful actors andinstitutions might shape collective and individual emotional representations’.7 We
contribute to the debate on how to empirically measure emotions in IR,8 proposing
a novel method for tracing emotionally loaded projections of international actors
by domestic media. Our focus is on the New Zealand mainstream media’s coverage
immediately after, and the six months following, the UK’s referendum.
According to Duffy,9 ‘We are more dependent on the media for information, thatis, where our personal experience is scant, what the media says on the subject has agreater influence on our perceptions’. Yet, how the media influences the public andimages is nuanced,10 and tracing nuances requires a robust methodology. Our operationalisation is informed by the Change Curve model—a model used in psychology
to understand how humans deal with sudden major changes. We map the emotive
framing of Brexit in New Zealand media against the four stages of this model. Innovatively, we call attention to a need to differentiate between sources of projection andrecognise the emotional impact of such sources. Although designed for psychological analysis, the Change Curve model provides useful categories to compare how
the Brexit vote, and its immediate aftermath, were framed by ‘local’ New Zealandnews sources vis-à-vis foreign (British) sources. We also tracked the journalistic attitudes—leave or remain—according to the sources. We find major differences which
we explain while engaging with local, New Zealand-specific filters.
1 Brader and Marcus (2013).
2 Didelon-Loiseau and Grasland (2014).
3 Chaban and Chaban (2018).
4 Gamson and Modigliani (1987).
5 Huddy et al. (2013), p. 1.
6 Huddy et al. (2013), p. 3.
7 Clément and Sangar (2017), p. 12.
8 Clément and Sangar (2017).
9 Duffy (2018), p. 61.
10 Valentino and Nardis (2013), p. 559.

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The New Zealand case study is special. We anticipate that New Zealand media
portrayals and images of Brexit and the possible implications of changes are ofhigh emotional value for New Zealanders. New Zealand’s relationship with the
UK has always been very close, with New Zealand established as the so-called‘better Britain’ (During 1998) and traditionally understood as ‘the most British’ of
all the former British colonies. New Zealand suffered a seismic economic, politicaland identity crises when Britain joined the EU’s precursor, the European Economic
Community (EEC) in the 1970s. The prevailing perception in New Zealand when
the UK joined the EEC was that New Zealand had been betrayed. Negative feelings
have been reignited by European protectionist agricultural policies that were hurting
New Zealand agricultural producers who traded internationally for decades. Yet,
the twenty-first century has brought a different tenor to the New Zealand (NZ)–EU
relations. It is characterised by a major turn to positive and constructive interactions
facilitated by a number of shared political positions, including mutual respect ofWestern liberal norms and values, championship of free trade, and support for multilateral world order. The British media coverage of the debate even suggested that
Britain could re-establish stronger Commonwealth ties after its EU exit.
Respectively, we outline four leading hypotheses:
H1: NZ’s influential media will frame Brexit in emotive terms, yet the type ofemotion will be depending on the news sources (NZ vs. UK).
H2: UK sources are expected to frame Brexit in emotionally invested terms (due tothe inherent drama triggering a range of emotions—from fear and resignation
to confusion or triumph—and the ensuing uncertainty for the UK).
H3: NZ news sources are expected to frame Brexit in a more neutral way (due to its
stable relations with both the EU and the UK in any scenario; its geographicaldistance; as well as diverging historical paths with the UK after the UK’s
accession to the EEC in the 1970s).
H4: Common ground between New Zealand and the UK—two western democracies
sharing a set of values and historical ties—would result in framing the UK by
NZ newsmakers from a positive-to-neutral perspective, reflecting on the feelingof historical kinship.
Importantly, our observation period embraced an event on the global stage which
in turn impacted on the emotive media framings of Brexit—the election of President
Trump. Both events are arguably seen as an affront to the multilateral world orderand the victory of populism. Consequently, we employ a fifth and final hypothesis:(H5) Trump’s victory in autumn 2016 will impact emotive framing of Brexit in NZ
media.
Empirically, we analyse the emotive framing of the Brexit referendum and its
immediate consequences in 715 published articles that referenced Brexit in threemain New Zealand newspapers between June 26 and December 31 2016: North
Island’s leading paper The New Zealand Herald, South Island’s press flagship The
Press as well as the leading newspaper in the nation’s capital The Dominion Post.
Leading national newspapers remain the main feeders of news for other media(including social) and other papers (regional and community). They also remain

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main sources of in-depth current information on international affairs and foreign
policy for educated audiences and elites. The geographical principle is important as
there is no one leading national daily in New Zealand.
The article proceeds as following. First, we establish historical background of
New Zealand’s relations with the UK—over centuries and in the context of European
integration. We then introduce our theoretical frameworks and discuss methods ofresearch. After that, we present our empirical findings before concluding that the
British decision to leave the EU was viewed emotively within a New Zealand context.
These highly negative emotions were compounded by the election of Donald Trump
later in the year.

1 Building the Context
New Zealand is a former British colony and a member of the Commonwealth. With
its historic reputation of ‘Britain in the Pacific’, New Zealand has experienced longand close relations with its metropole. Even as late as the 1950s, some New Zealandborn citizens still considered themselves as British. This feeling of closeness provides
some elucidation towards explaining why it was a shock when, as early as the 1950s,
Britain made it clear to New Zealand officials that they intended to join the EEC.11
The UK’s accession to the EEC in 1973 was compared in New Zealandpublic discourses to the ‘cutting of apron strings’—‘mother Britain’ had left andthe discourse of abandonment seized public imagination in New Zealand.12 This
discourse was magnified by New Zealand’s perceived economic loss. Yet, somecommentators have noted that the NZ–UK relationship prior to 1973 was not necessarily altruistic with New Zealand exports to Britain ‘governed by British selfinterest’13 New Zealand’s total percentage of exports to the UK had also been consistently decreasing, meaning that New Zealand’s trade reliance on the UK was not asimportant as popular perception.14 Importantly, the negative perception felt in New
Zealand of the UK the EEC has continually influenced perceptions and although
trade disputes have largely subsided, negative perceptions remain, particularly whenit comes to European agriculture.
Concurrently, as Britain sought to access to the EEC, the British public and political debate resulted in mixed perceptions about British entry to the ‘club’ whenmembership was granted in 1972. The result of the incumbent Labour party manifesto was a nation-wide referendum in order to put to rest the debate about British
membership for good (at least in principle). Yet, British perceptions continued tobe equated with Euroscepticism, with Margaret Thatcher, often wrongly creditedwith being anti-Europe. British Euroscepticism has arguably filtered through to New
11 Chaban and Christie (2015).
12 Bain et al. (2012).
13 McAloon (2016).
14 Gibbons.

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Zealand perceptions, for instance through the heavy use of British sources in local
print media.15
At the time of the Brexit vote in 2016, New Zealand–EU relations were arguably
at an all-time high. The first legally binding treaty, the Partnership Agreement on
Relations and Cooperation (PARC) was in the final processes of ratification. Perhaps
more importantly, both sides had announced their intention to pursue negotiations
on a comprehensive free trade agreement. These two developments may serve to
explain why the New Zealand media commentators were surprised, and somewhat
dismayed, by the outcome of the UK referendum as shown in our results section.
It is not surprising that most of the current literature on Brexit addresses the issue
from an internal perspective considering either consequences for the UK or the EU,
as well as European reactions to the developments around Brexit.16 Adler-Nissen
et al.17 that made an important contribution to the potential global impact of Brexit.
Another exception is a multi-country study of the perceptions of the EU and UK
in the period of uncertainty following the ‘Yes’ vote.18 While New Zealand caseis a part of the latter research,19 their case has not dealt with emotive side of New
Zealand’s reaction exclusively. Our study addresses this gap.

2 Theoretical Frameworks: Conceptual Synergies
2.1 EU Perceptions Framework of Temporal and Spatial
Filters
Understanding images is important in order to comprehend how people constructreality.20 Studies of external images and perceptions are traditionally part of IR
scholarship, albeit somewhat peripheral. Image theory (developed since the 1950sin the context of the Cold War) has experienced a revival after the collapse of the
USSR (in reflection to new global dimension to threats (e.g. global terrorism) andmoving beyond state-specific conceptualisations). Arguably, the second resurgent
wave is taking place post annexation of the Crimean peninsula by Russia, post
Brexit, and post-Trump election, all pointing to a potential collapse of the multilateral world order, and in this context raise of populism, nativism and far right. Our
study contributes to this scholarly tradition. It shares one of the basic premises of thetheory—images in IR are complex constellations of meanings.21
15 Kelly (2010).
16 Wincott et al. (2017).
17 Adler-Nissen et al. (2017).
18 Chaban et al. (2020).
19 Kelly and Mochan (2020).
20 Herrmann (2013), p. 335.
21 Herrmann et al. (1997).

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We position our inquiry within a strand of studies that study images and perceptions in IR in the context of the EU and its external action.22,23,24,25,26 This field argues
the relational nature of perceptions of the EU.27,28 Works in the field argue that EU
external perceptions vary—they are location-, issue-, time- and cohort/discoursespecific.29 Literature in the field also invites scholars to explore how perceptions
may differ between systemic, country- and individual-specific levels.30 Adding tothese conceptualisations, we also relate images of Brexit to the sense of time anddistance. Here we build on Chaban and Chaban31 and Chaban et al.32 on EU external
images and perceptions, who inform their research by works by Didelon-Loiseau
and Grasland33 on cognitive mapping and Braudel34 on conceptualisations of spatial
and temporal mental models.
In an attempt to explain the variation in external perceptions of Brexit, relevant
literature argues that images and perceptions of Others are shaped by a set of factors
on systemic, country-specific and individual-specific levels. Factors of systemic character mean that images and perceptions of Brexit, in cognitive and emotive terms,
will inevitably relate to understandings of and emotional reactions to global trends,
geopolitical contexts and economic interdependencies.35 Country-specific factors
combine reflections of reality and self-visions of the country’s political system,
as well as its history and culture, norms and values, media system, and linguistic
patterns. Here, we expect that NZ’s historical ties to the UK, memories of the UK’s
accession to the EEC and current successful relations with the EU will matter. We also
expect that peculiarities of the NZ media system will affect the framing of Brexit–
NZ news media belongs Western Liberal type36 that is characterised by open attitudes to sourcing news internationally, from trusted reputable agencies (a cost-saving
strategy in news production). With images and perceptions residing in the minds ofindividuals, individual-specific (or demographic) features of the perceivers will also
play a central role. Among those are age, gender, region, education, income, personal
contacts with the EU (direct and mediated by colleagues/friends/relatives), and interpersonal communication about the Other. According to Keuleers, the individual-level
22 Lucarelli (2014).
23 Chaban and Holland (2015).
24 Chaban and Holland (2018).
25 Elgström and Chaban (2015).
26 Chaban and Elgström (2019).
27 Chaban et al. (2018).
28 Chaban and Chaban (2018).
29 Chaban et al. (2013).
30 Chaban et al. (2017).
31 Chaban and Chaban (2018).
32 Chaban et al. (2018).
33 Didelon-Loiseau and Grasland (2014).
34 Braudel (1980).
35 PPMI, NCRE and NFG (2015).
36 Hallin and Mancini (2014).

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165

factors are found to be among the most powerful in shaping the general public’s
external perceptions of an IR factor.37 In this light, we conceptualise the projectionof emotions through media framing as an attempt of the news producers to reachto an individual reader while stirring certain emotive responses. Importantly, thesethree groups of factors do not act separately from each other—they interact witheach other, with many unique combinations. Our study considers these explanatory
factors when tracking the emotive framing of Brexit in NZ media. We expect media
framing reflect the relational nature of EU external perceptions.
Our theorisation of the relational character of EU external perceptions includes
consideration of the temporal and spatial distances in imagining Brexit. In the spatial
dimension, following Chaban and Chaban,38,39 we expect emotive framing of Brexit
to depend on location-specific (NZ-specific) factors ( ‘endogenous’ factors),40,41
region-specific factors (NZ is located in the Asia–Pacific geopolitical region, with its
own priorities and leading actors), EU- and UK-specific factors (exogenous42 factors
which are typically beyond the control or influence of the 3rd country, NZ in ourcase), and finally global factors43 (the ones beyond the control of the EU/UK and
NZ). In the temporal dimension, three temporal planes are expected to influence theemotive framing of Brexit: short-term history (dramatic changes due to revolutionary,
major events), mid-term history (between quarter to half of a century), and long-term
history (centuries of changes).44,45,46 Emotive framing of Brexit in New Zealand isarguably impacted by the three temporalities. The “Yes” vote marked a shocking
major change and signalled an immediate departure into uncharted policy territory
for the UK, the EU and New Zealand as their close partner. The memory of the UK’s
uneasy accession to the EU in the 1970s—and its consequences for New Zealand—
are still a factor. Finally, New Zealand’s centuries-long history has a strong UK link
and these long-term historical views remain powerful contributors.

2.2 Political Psychology Frameworks
This focus on emotions leads many IR scholars to political psychology. Underlining
the relational nature of EU external images and perceptions, Chaban et al.47 argued
37 Keuleers (2015).
38 Chaban and Chaban (2018).
39 Chaban and Knodt (2020).
40 Chaban and Magdalena (2014), pp. 195–220.
41 Tsuruoka (2006).
42 Tsuruoka (2008).
43 Chaban and Magdalena (2014), supra n. 95.
44 Didelon-Loiseau and Grasland (2014).
45 Braudel (1980).
46 Chaban and Chaban (2018).
47 Chaban et al. (2018).

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Fig. 1 The Change Curve. Source Marc Wright, Gower Handbook of Internal Communication,
London: Taylor & Francis Group, 2009that the factors listed above ‘do not act separately from each other—they interact witheach other, with many unique combinations’. The nature of Brexit which triggered
major uncertainties of existential nature—suggests that a short-term temporal plane
is of special importance for our conceptualisations. This is not lastly due to the strong
emotive charge attached to the information about Brexit. As such, we turn to the fieldof political psychology to understand the emotive framing of Brexit. It has to be said
that emotions have been on the periphery of IR scholarship. In the past, emotions,according to Brader and Marcus, were seen as ‘mysterious or elusive and, hence, notamenable to scientific inquiry’ and ‘declining force as the growth of and reliance on
scientific knowledge … would enable reason to take up the central role in politics’.
However, the last two decades witnessed a steady growth of interest towards emotionsin the scholarship of politics.48 Behind this ‘emotive turn’ is a realisation that any
model of social actions and interactions must factor the ‘irrational’ level of emotions.
To chart New Zealand media’s employment of the use of emotions in Brexit
coverage over the second half of 2016, we employ a model well known in psychology:
the ‘Change Curve’. It is an abbreviated version of the Kübler-Ross ‘Grief Model’.49
The Change Curve condenses the Kubler-Ross’ Grief Model into three comprehensive stages of emotions which are expressed over time when dealing with change andare commonly used to predict collective morale and competence whilst processingchange (see Fig. 1).50 The first stage is shock and denial, which starts off as unobservable behaviour but eventually descents into a negative attitude. The second stage isanger and fear, even depression. These emotions make themselves noticeable throughnegative effects and an obvious rejection of the change that occurred. The third stageis when the feeling of understanding emerges slowly; it includes the exploration
48 Brader and Marcus (2013).
49 Kübler-Ross (1973).
50 Wright (2009).

11 Shifting Frames: Images of Brexit in NZ and Possible Consequences167

of what the new change entails, and a gained sense of competence regarding saidchange. This in turn leads to acceptance, and a level of morale which is similar to
before.
We use the three stages to track and map the emotive framing of Brexit by New
Zealand media in the first six months following the UK’s ‘Yes’ vote. The next section
details the method of our inquiry.

3 Methodology
The focus of this chapter is on media discourses on Brexit in New Zealand’s leadingpress. As Herrmann notes, ‘The pictures people have of other countries become
central building blocks in their identification of the threats and opportunities theircountry faces’51 and thus have important consequences for policy decisions andfuture relationships. In this light, framing by the media has the potential to be hugely
influential in how the public views an issue.52
We observed three high-circulation reputable dailies in New Zealand—the New
Zealand Herald, The Press and The Dominion Post. North Island’s most circulated
paper The New Zealand Herald has a current weekly readership of 785,000,53 South
Island’s leading papers The Press has weekly readership of 278,000.54 Leading newspaper in the nation’s capital The Dominion Post has weekly readership of 306,000.55
These outlets are seen as high-quality professional credible media sources. This issignificant—Valentino and Nardis56 argue that the credibility of the source is one of
the important elements, which impacts reception.57
Our team considered the framing of Brexit in New Zealand’s leading newspapers
over 6 months—between June 24 (the day after the referendum) until December 31,
2016. Articles were drawn from two e-databases—Press Reader and Factiva. The
articles qualified as relevant data if they contained the term ‘Brexit’ at least once ina news article.58 The sample of articles in this study is 714.
Adding to the debate on how to research emotions in IR, we approach thestudy of emotions through the study of language ‘as a key through which we gain
access to emotions and their constitutive social function’.59 In order to quantify

51 Herrmann (2013), p. 337.
52 Berinsky and Kinder (2006).
53 “NZ Herald’s readership continues to grow”, The New Zealand Herald, 22/6/2017. https://www.
nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11880473.
54 https://www.newsworksnz.co.nz/titles-rates-specs/the-press-fairfax/.
55 https://www.newsworksnz.co.nz/titles-rates-specs/the-dominion-post-fairfax/.
56 Valentino and Nardis (2013), p. 561.
57 The others being the type of media, organisation of the argument, quality and systematic biases.
58 Quotations and readers’ letters were omitted from analysis.
59 Heller (2017), p. 75.

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and compare the sentiments projected by the newspaper, we measured the prevalence of strong emotive terms—or the lack thereof—over time. We employed aheuristic approach and derived emotive terms from the key emotions included in
the Curve Change model discussed above. The key words (and their derivatives)
included: change (changes, changing, changed), shock (shocks, shocking, shocked),anger (angry, angered), fear (fears, feared), uncertainty (uncertainties, uncertain),inequality (inequalities, unequal), and panic (panicking, panicked). We used our PDF
Reader’s search function to scan each of the news articles for the aforementioned
key words, and quantified their occurrences in the table below (Table 1).
The articles were also analysed in terms of the news sources—New Zealandsources vis-à-vis international sources (and UK sources in particular) and according
to their sentiment towards Brexit: pro-remain, pro-leave or neutral. Deductions about
whether articles expressed an overall pro-remain, pro-leave or neutral attitude weremade empirically, and influenced by factors such as the tone of writing, the opinions
expressed by the author, the messages conveyed by the heading and imagery, as wellas any figures of speech within the text. Finally, we made a note of whether (andhow) the 2016 US elections were mentioned in the same article.

4 Findings
4.1 General Visibility
We observed a voluminous coverage of the British referendum and its aftermath by
the three selected newspapers in New Zealand—a remote, yet historically connectedto the UK small state. In the week following the June referendum alone, the numberof articles was an astonishing 126 in the three canvassed publications. Rather
predictably, the number has decreased over time. In July there were 175 articles
and in 48 in August. What was perhaps surprising was the spike in Brexit topic
visibility in the lead up to the US election 2016: 64 articles in September, followedby 44 in October and 139 in November. This intensity continued into December,when 103 articles referencing Brexit were published. Typically, when unexpected
dramatic events occur, the intensity in visibility occurs at the beginning of the eventand decreases over time. In this instance, the visibility had a different pattern.
Importantly, we witnessed not only an abnormal trend in visibility of Brexit but
also an evolution of framing of the British referendum over time. At first, Brexit was
portrayed in the New Zealand media as having an impact on either Britain, Europe
or New Zealand. Then in November, when Donald Trump was elected as the 45th
President of the US, the New Zealand media started to make connections between
the two events on a different—global—scale.
Figure 2 summarises the journalistic attitude of the articles referencing Brexit—
whether the articles displayed a pro-leave, remain or neutral attitude towards Brexit.
Overall, and irrespective of the news sources, the articles were overwhelmingly more

446
266

30

192

80

52

22

564

350b

Angry; anger; angered

Change(s); changing; changed

Shock(s); shocking; shocked

Inequality/inequalities; unequal

Panic; panicking; panicked

Total countAmount of overall articles

51

Uncertain; uncertainty/uncertainties

5 (18)

33 (43)35 (69)

3 (3)

0 (1)

5 (13)

13 (13)4 (6)5 (15)

32

175

313

9

31

38

130

25

50

138

282

9

26

35

116

23

47

26

NZ

29 (8)

21 (13)

0 (0)

0 (5)

1 (2)

10 (4)

2 (1)

2 (1)

6 (0)

UK (A-S)

The Dominion

189

310

10

22

35

142

26

34

41

Total

141

239

10

27

31

112

7

25

27

NZ

38 (10)38 (17)

0 (0)

0 (5)

2 (2)

22 (8)

2 (0)

0 (0)

12 (2)UK (A-S)acollection (24th June–31st December 2016). For the readers’ reference, the total amount of articles considered in this analysis can be found in the last columnof the chartb The ‘total’ column includes publications from French sources (8 articles in the NZ Herald), which are left out in the closer examination of the New Zealand,
UK and Anglo- Saxon (US and AUS) articles

a A-S: Anglo- Saxon sources = (US and AUS) Table shows the amount of times various emotion-related key terms were mentioned in the respective article

16

51

58

165

17

88

81

109

Fear(s); feared

The Press
Total

UK (A-S)

Total

NZ

NZ Herald

Table 1 Number of emotional terms used

11 Shifting Frames: Images of Brexit in NZ and Possible Consequences
169

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S. Kelly et al.

Fig. 2 Number of articles depicting Brexit in positive, negative and neutral terms (N = 714)

pro-remain than leave. Yet, in the months before the election of Donald Trump, proleave sentiments were also visible. A spike in articles presenting a negative attitude
towards Brexit coincided with the news about US election.

4.2 Emotive Framing: General Observations
Our analysis demonstrates that overwhelming number of articles that mentioned
Brexit did so through an emotional lens (see Table 1 for the summary of the emotive
key terms). A high number of articles on Brexit incorporated emotional words (andanalysed in light of the Change Curve model) such as fear, uncertainty, anger,change, shock, panic and inequality. The use of these terms occurred in 462 outof 714 articles (65%) in the period under consideration. The most frequent word
observed in the articles was change (192 times), followed by uncertainty (109 times).
Mentions of anger (30) and panic (22) also featured but not as prominently.60 Some
articles featured more than one emotively charged word (Table 1).

4.3 Emotive Framing: Factoring News Sources
As discussed above, a former British colony and English-speaking country, New
Zealand has heavily relied on British news sources in order to be informed about
Europe and the EU.61 Our next level of analysis stems addressed our first three

60 This number includes all the key terms in total, some of the terms were more common in somearticles than others.
61 Kelly (2010).

11 Shifting Frames: Images of Brexit in NZ and Possible Consequences

2.5

171

British media sources

Attitude

2
1.5
1
0.5
0
23/06/2016 24/07/2016 24/08/2016 24/09/2016 25/10/2016 25/11/2016 26/12/2016

DateFig. 3 Attitudes towards Brexit from British media sources

hypotheses—that British news sources would be more emotionally invested on issuesof Brexit than geographically distanced New Zealand authors would.
Over the period examined, 100 articles referencing Brexit were sourced from UK
sources vis-à-vis 547 articles written by New Zealand sources. Figure 3 charts thelevel of emotivity of the news items in the New Zealand media from the UK sources,
with attitudes of 0 (negative and including a high level of emotive terms); 1 (neutral
with only little linguistic emotivity) and 2 (positive towards Brexit and only very
limited use of emotional terminology). We discovered that during the first months
following the vote, the attitude conveyed in the British media sources was mainly
negative; however, over time news coming from the UK sources projected a messageof accepting Brexit, as the attitudes started averaging and eventually surpassing
1 (neutral). The analysis of the texts, in consideration of the key emotive terms
indicated in the UK-sourced news over time, showed that the situation was presented
as though the public was moving past earlier stages of ‘grief’—as predicted by the
Change Curve model. Such a reaction could be attributed to the British culture of
having a ‘stiff upper lip’, but we suggest that there is more at play. Arguably, British
journalists also were pragmatic in projecting the messages of a fast move beyond thegrief stages. More reasons are outlined below.
Figure 4 demonstrates the distribution of emotive messages in the news items
written by local, New Zealand authors. In contrast to the trend identified in Fig. 3, we
identified that New Zealand authors were less likely to be moving past the initial griefstages onto acceptance. As pictured below, the negative sentiments and emotivity ofthe evaluated articles were so prevalent that the average attitude never even cameclose to 1 (neutral). Put in context with the Change Curve, this indicates that New
Zealand media appeared communicate a sense of being ‘stuck’ in the earlier stagesof grief (shock, denial, fear and anger) for a much longer time than their British
counterparts. This is in some ways a surprising finding, given that Brexit occurredhalfway across the world and New Zealand’s ties to ‘mother Britain’ are much lessthan they used to be.

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NZ authored

2.5

Attitude

2
1.5
1
0.5
0
23.06.2016

24.07.2016

24.08.2016

24.09.2016

25.10.2016

25.11.2016

26.12.2016

Date
Fig. 4 Attitudes towards Brexit in NZ authored sources

Why did NZ-sourced news feature a different emotive pattern, more resistant topositivity and optimism about the change imposed by Brexit? This study proposes
several explanations. First, in the New Zealand coverage, Brexit was often associatedwith negative phenomena such as the rise of populism, xenophobia and racism. New
Zealand media commentators used the Brexit example to demonstrate that New
Zealand was, and New Zealanders are, different than Britain and above such issues.
For instance, the New Zealand Herald printed an article on Brexit which stated,‘Politically and economically, New Zealand remains an island of stability in an
uncertain world’.62 This feeling of superiority was echoed by a commentator at The
Press, who discussed the results of the referendum resulting in an increase in British
migrants wanting to leave the UK and move to New Zealand: ‘In the days following
the shock Brexit vote, Immigration New Zealand and local medical recruitment
agencies registered a huge upswing in interest from doctors, nurses and allied healthstaff wanting to sling their hooks and stethoscopes Down Under’.63
This feeling of being removed, and even superior to Britons who voted to leave the
EU was evident throughout the observed reportage. For instance, one article stated:‘In Britain, our other English-speaking cousins are wondering about the wisdomof Brexit. Of course, every British slum-dweller hates a bureaucrat, especially one
from Brussels. But when they found out that Brussels gives them money and won’t
keep on giving it after Brexit, some felt betrayed’.64 Of special interest is article’s
definition of the British public as New Zealand ‘cousins’, presumably indicatingthat the ‘mother–child’ relationship of the 1970s is well and truly over. Secondly, it
implied that the UK’s voting members of the public were misinformed about what
they were voting for.
62 “Editorial: Poll gives John Key every chance of a fourth term”, The New Zealand Herald,

14/9/2016. https://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11708934.
63 “Desperately seeking what we’ve already got”, The Press, 22/6/2016.
64 “Boxing day second thoughts”, Dominion Post, 26/12/2016.

11 Shifting Frames: Images of Brexit in NZ and Possible Consequences

173

Another reason to the negative emotive framing is connected to the election of
Trump—a political development on the global stage that signified the advancement ofprotectionist policies and a potential end to the multilateral world order. For instance,
one NZ commentator noted, ‘In this increasingly hostile environment, how should
purist free-trading New Zealand play its hand?’.65 Smellie was concerned that New
Zealand’s record as one of the most trade liberal countries in the world would need tostart to seriously consider how it operates in a new global system which is perceived
as more protectionist. An article published only two days later cited prominent New
Zealand economist, Shamubeel Eaqub, who claimed that Brexit and Trump ‘hadsignificant implications for globalisation and […] the world was heading toward ‘amuch darker age’ that was more insular and protectionist, which will affect a numberof Kiwi businesses’.66 Both of these articles relied on making international events
more relevant for local audiences through the use of ‘local hooks’.
Importantly, with the course of time, the framing of Brexit changed in NZ leading
newspapers—from an internal British and European issue following the ‘Yes’ voteto a showcase of the worldwide trend towards populism following the election of
Trump. It is at this moment when the New Zealand media began to once again
reference Brexit with a higher intensity than in the preceding months. This time theevent of Brexit, linked to the outcomes of the US election, was used to project aparticular narrative about New Zealand. In this narrative, New Zealand has becomea beacon of hope in a world dominated by racism and protectionism. For instance,
the commentator Whittle announced that ‘In the wider world of Brexit, Trump andthe worrying resurgence of nationalism, the ability to distinguish the sensible fromthe unconscionable is urgently needed’.67
Although unrelated to the Change Curve Model, one finding from our research wasparticularly important in conveying New Zealand’s self-identity: An article publishedin The Press stated: ‘The Brexit vote earlier this year and the election of Trump
are social phenomena that demonstrate now is the time to get deadly serious about
addressing inequality’.68 This quote mirrors the sentiments conveyed in a publicationfrom 3 months earlier, which pointed out that ‘There has been much written overseas
about the factors driving the Brexit/Trump phenomenon but if there is one findingthat may resonate with New Zealand voters it is that much of it is driven by people’s
fears their children will have fewer opportunities than they did’.69 In other words,
Brexit and the US election, events which were geographically removed from New
Zealand were an opportunity for New Zealand media to redress its country’s own
inequality issues, over the course of several months. A change of government in New
Zealand to the Labour government may be tentatively linked to the feelings conveyed
in the local media—that we are different from these two events but that we can, andshould, also learn from them.
65 “Politics of trade just got trickier”, Dominion Post, 27/10/2016.
66 The New Zealand Herald, 29/10/2016.
67 “Why schools should teach philosophy”, The Press, 30/11/2016.
68 “Inequality has bred contempt”, The Press, 11/11/2016.
69 “2017: Popularity, predicatability, Peters”, The Dominion Post, 20/8/2016.

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As already demonstrated, New Zealand authors linked Brexit and Trump topopulism and suggested that New Zealand was above such a trend. Furthermore,
many authors assumed that the uncertainty emerging in the affected countries would
lead to large numbers of wealthy people immigrating to New Zealand, putting pressure on an already stretched housing market. This theme was illustrated by several
articles.
In June, the NZ Herald released an economic commentary article which included
the following statement: ‘Put simply, the economic reality is that New Zealand rightnow is a place where a large number of people would love to come and live. Thatis challenging on many levels, not least housing supply, but it is also valuable. We
have to make some big and careful calls about immigration in the next few years’.70
Five months later, an article by Edmunds for the Dominion Post included a similar
outlook to the future of New Zealand housing: ‘Carmen Vicelich, of property data
website MyValocity, said the Trump win combined with existing uncertainty asa result of Brexit would have an effect on New Zealand. She said more people
wanting to move to New Zealand, combined with expat New Zealanders coming
home, would add to the pool of buyers looking for properties’.71 The insecurity about
the impact of immigration resulting from recent world events indicates that New
Zealand media does have the potential to experience protectionist sentiments, which
implies a paradox in emotion. On one hand, New Zealand condemns protectionism,
but on the other hand, it fears that immigrants fleeing this exact reality may create
inequalities on the local housing market.

5 Discussion
Returning to our hypotheses, H1 predicted that NZ’s influential media would frame
Brexit in emotive terms, depending on its sources. We find this overarching hypothesis
is supported, yet in an unanticipated way. Our second hypothesis expected that UK
authors would report Brexit news in a more emotionally invested (negative) position
than New Zealand authors (H2). We anticipated that New Zealand authors would
present a more ‘watered-down’ framing of Brexit in emotive terms, not least due
to the geographical distance as well as diverging historical paths after the UK’s
accession to the EEC in the 1970s (H3).
Our findings in fact pointed to a reverse dynamic. The news published in New
Zealand newspapers which originated from the UK appeared to present a morerefrained emotive framing of Brexit over the time period analysed. By contrast,
New Zealand authors reported Brexit from a much more emotional perspective, withlots of negative emotions. These negative emotions were able to be clearly mapped
against the ‘grief model’. A more refrained emotional profile rendered by the UK
70 “Liam Dann: Reserve Bank well placed for Brexit fallout”, The New Zealand Herald, 26/6/2016.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11663837.
71 “Election could lead to pricey Mortgages”, The Dominion Post, 12/11/2016.

11 Shifting Frames: Images of Brexit in NZ and Possible Consequences

175sourced news could be explained by the newsmaking process and the phenomenonof the commodification of news. In order to be sellable globally, many UK sources
may choose to de-emotivise their reportages, to appeal to a broader market. A moreengaged, partisan reportage risks limiting the potential buyers of news around theworld.
In the case of news articles with New Zealand authors, we suggest that for New
Zealand, the referendum result meant that once again New Zealand ‘lost’ the UK—afamiliar constellation was once again shattered. The first time was in the 1970s,
when there was a perception that the UK abandoned New Zealand by severing
old Commonwealth allegiances and links in order to join the European Economic
Community. This time, in 2016, the perception is that the UK abandoned the EU,
denting the European integration project. The irony about this decision was that it
happened at a time when EU–New Zealand relations were at an all-time high—tradetensions had been largely ironed out (particularly through the GATT and later WTO
arrangements). Further, the EU–New Zealand PARC Agreement had recently been
finalised and the announcement had been made about the intention to pursue a Free
Trade agreement.
We stress that our attention to the words ‘fear’, ‘anger’ and ‘uncertainty’ point that,for New Zealand news authors, Brexit presents a ground to render the highly emotionsof ‘uncertainty’—the changing world order signified by Brexit in the context of
Trump’s election makes them ask the question ‘what it means for NZ’s economy?’and ‘if NZ is going to be hurt again?’. This emotion relates to the emotion of ‘fear’.
Regarding our fourth hypothesis, we expected that normative common grounds
between New Zealand and the UK—two western democracies sharing a set ofvalues—would result in framing the UK by NZ newsmakers from a positive-toneutral perspective, reflecting on the feeling of historical kinship (H4). Our analysis
did not support this hypothesis. In fact, New Zealand’s values were often contrasted
with Britain’s. This is another important finding of our study as Nelson et al.72 state‘Judgements about the relevance, applicability, and importance of competing values
are matters of perception and interpretation—precisely the sort of responses targetedby framing’. In our case, Brexit was used to frame the UK as a ‘normative Other’ to
New Zealand—a place where populism, xenophobia, racism and intolerance went
wild, with New Zealand presented as a very different place—a place on the higher
moral/normative grounds.73,74 In this instance, the UK was labelled a “cousin” by
New Zealand newsmakers, rather than a “mother”, as it was in the 1960s or early
1970s coverage of the UK’s accession to the EEC.
Finally, our fifth hypothesis was supported. Trump’s victory did influence theframing of Brexit in NZ media. First, it triggered a shift in the cognitive ‘filling’ of
the Brexit frame. The frame has shifted—from framing Brexit as a regional story of
the troubled EU and the shaken architecture of the European integration, to a different
mental schema, with a more global flavour to it—‘negative populist development’,
72 Nelson et al. (2015).
73 Chaban and Greenland (2014).
74 Chaban and Pardo (2018).

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‘together with Trump’s victory, it is the end of the order we knew’. In this context,
it intensified negative feelings attached to it.
The findings in this chapter have more than theoretical implications. First, by
remaining stuck in the early stages of grief New Zealand newspaper readers, including
officials, may also find it difficult to move on and react appropriately to the evolving
situation. As the EU and UK combined represents New Zealand’s third largest
trading partner, New Zealand’s economic livelihood is potentially threatened withthe outcome of the Brexit negotiations. Therefore, it is important that New Zealand’s
trade officials are proactive in dealing with the developing political situation.
Politically, New Zealand has now a huge task ahead—to forge new relationships
with Europe, while pulling away from the UK which, 60 years ago was viewed as aparent to our young nation and has always been looked on favourably. For instance,
diplomatic resources, which were pulled from Europe towards Asia around 10 years
ago are now moving back to Europe—new New Zealand embassies were opened in
Ireland and Sweden in 2018.
Peffley and Hurwitz75 have looked at the ‘consequences and causes’ of imagechange in the case of an enemy (the Soviet Union). They found that foreign policy
images are generally quite stable and difficult to change. Moreover, these images haveimportant, measurable consequences—being filtered foreign policy.76 In our case,
Britain (and to a lesser extent the US) has traditionally been looked upon by New
Zealand as a like-minded country with shared values. Resultantly, the UK and theUS, through Brexit and Trump, have been viewed from a rather negative perspective,
potentially denting their images in the minds of the public. While we do not argue
that these images mean that the two states have changed their images to a dramatic
image of an ‘enemy’, but both have been certainly framed as the ‘not us’ and as
having values somewhat differing from New Zealand values.
Our study has analysed the potential impact of the New Zealand media’s portrayalof the British referendum and its aftermath. While the media has been credited withhaving some influence over perceptions, this is not the complete story.77 Futurestudies may analyse the impact of the media messages onto New Zealand elites andpublic. Future research may also analyse EU-specific publications (e.g. EU Observer)
or EU member states’ media and their mapping of Brexit against the Curve Change
analytical model.

References
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75 Peffley and Hurwitz (1992).
76 Herrmann (1986).
77 Valentino and Nardis (2013).

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Bain, J., Chaban, N., & Christie, S. (2012). Cutting apron strings? New Zealand’s reflections on
the UK EEC Accession (case of New Zealand political cartoons, 1970–73). Journal of European
Integration History, 18(2), 245–268.
Berinsky, A., & Kinder, D. (2006). Making sense of issues through media frames: Understanding
the Kosovo Crisis. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan.
Brader, T., & Marcus, G. E. (2013). Emotions and political psychology. Oxford: Oxford University
Press.
Braudel, F. (1980). On history. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson.
Chaban, N., & Chaban, A. (2018). Communicating Europe beyond its borders: Imaging the EU in
Ukraine Post-Maidan. Alphen aan den Rijn: Kluwer Law International.
Chaban, N., & Christie, S. (2015). Re-tracing Europe: Images and perceptions of the EU in New
Zealand history. The 1950s—The beginning of the story. In P. Winand (Ed.), The external relationsof the European Union: Historical and contemporary perspectives (pp. 77–94). Brussels, Bern,
Berlin, Frankfurt/M, New York, Oxford, Wien: Peter Lang.
Chaban, N., & Elgström, O. (2019). Perceptions of EU mediation and mediation effectiveness:
Comparing perspectives from Ukraine and the EU. SAGE Publications.
Chaban, N., Elgström, O., Kelly, S., & Yi, L. S. (2013). Images of the EU beyond its borders:Issue-specific and regional perceptions of EU power and leadership. Journal of Common Market
Studies, 51(3), 433–451.
Chaban, N., & Greenland, B. (2014). To the question of cultural filters and cognitive priors: Shaping
reception of the NPE among external norm-takers.
Chaban, N., & Holland, M. (2015). Theorising and framing ‘Normative Power Europe’: Asianjournalists’ comparative perspectives. Asia-Europe Journal.
Chaban, N., & Holland, M. (2018). Shaping the EU global strategy: Partners and perceptions.
Cham: Palgrave Macmillan.
Chaban, N., Knodt, M., & Headley, J. (Eds.). (2018). Special issue “The EU and its eastern neighbours: Perceptions and strategic dialogue in the region. Special Issue European Foreign Affairs
Review, 23(1/1).
Chaban, N., & Knodt, M. (2020). Perceptions of the EU in Ukraine after “Brexit” referendum:
Images of capabilities and opportunities. In N. Chaban, A. Niemann & J. Speyer (Eds.), Changing
perceptions of the EU at times of Brexit: Global perspectives. Routledge, forthcoming.
Chaban, N., & Magdalena, A.-M. (2014). External perceptions of the EU during the Eurozone
Sovereign Debt Crisis. European Foreign Affairs Review.
Chaban, N., Miskimmon, A., & O’Loughlin, B. (2017). The EU’s peace and security narrative: Views
from EU strategic partners in Asia. Journal of Common Market Studies, 55(6), 1273–1289.
Chaban, N., & Pardo, S. (2018). Understanding EU external perceptions: Theorising local ‘Cultural
Filters’ in the normative power approach (case-study of textbooks). Australian and New Zealand
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Chaban, N., et al. (2020). Perceptions of the EU in Ukraine after “Brexit” referendum: Images ofcapabilities and opportunities, Routledge.
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(p. 2882).
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Tsuruoka, M. (2008). “Expectations Deficit” in EU-Japan relations: Why EU-Japan partnership
cannot flourish. London: Nova Science Publishers, supra n. 83.
Valentino, N., & Nardis, Y. (2013). Political communication: Form and consequence of theinformation environment. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Wincott, D. et al. (2017). Brexit dilemmas: New opportunities and tough choices in unsettled times.
Cardiff: British Journal of Politics and International Relations.
Wright, M. (2009). Gower handbook of internal communication. London: Taylor & Francis Group.

Serena Kelly is a senior lecturer in European and European Union Studies, Deputy Director of
the National Centre for Research on Europe, University of Canterbury, and chair of the New
Zealand Institute of International Affairs, Christchurch branch, New Zealand. Serena has beena project leader of, and contributor to, a number of external EU perceptions research projects,
including on perceptions of the EU in the Asia–Pacific. These projects examine Elite, Media, andpublic opinion perceptions of the EU. Her current research examines the impact of Brexit on New
Zealand and the proposed EU-NZ Free Trade Agreement. Serena’s findings have been publishedin esteemed journals and is a regular contributor to local New Zealand media outlets on EU issues.
Her research interests include: European diplomacy, international political communication andEurope’s relations, presence, impact in and, with the Asia Pacific.

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179

Franzisca Doser has recently graduated with a master’s degree in European Union Studies. She
was a student at the National Centre for Research on Europe, based at the University of Canterbury
in Christchurch. Franzisca was raised in small-town Germany; her move to New Zealand enabled
her to get an outside perspective of the European Union’s significance in the world. During hertime at the National Centre for Research on Europe, Franzisca had the privilege of undertaking aninternship at the Asia-Europe Foundation, where she learnt the value of international diplomacy.
Having also studied education and psychology, her research interests include integration, identity,
and cultural connectivity. Currently, Franzisca is employed in New Zealand’s public sector.
Natalia Chaban is Professor and Jean Monnet Chair at the Department of Media and Communication at University of Canterbury, New Zealand. She is the President of Ukrainian Studies Association of Australia and New Zealand, co-editor of the Australian and New Zealand Journal of
European Studies (since its inception in 2009) and leader of a number of transnational research
projects supported by the European Commission EEAS and NATO. Natalia focuses her interdisciplinary research on cognitive and semiotic aspects of political and media discourses, image andperceptions studies within the EU and IR contexts, and public diplomacy and political communication. Natalia widely publishes including articles in high impact journals such as the Journalof Common Market Studies, Journal of European Integration, Cooperation and Conflict, Foreign
Policy Analysis, Mobilities, Comparative European Politics. Most recently, she co-edited Special
Issue of European Security “Understanding the scope and limits of EU diplomacy—Connecting
strategic narrative to EU external perceptions research” (with A. Miskimmon and B. O’Loughlin,2019) and Changing perceptions of the EU at times of Brexit: Global Perspectives (with A.
Niemann and J. Speyer, Routledge, 2020).

Chapter 12

The Dynamics of China’s Trade Ties
After a Brexit Announcement, UK
and EU
Judy Yo-Ming Wu

Abstract The biggest challenge posted by Brexit comes from the uncertain future of
the British economy. As researchers suggested, Brexit will also harm the European
economy by a long turn dipping in an instability consequence. In 2019, the tradevolume between the UK and China reached US$86.2billion, making Britain China’s
second largest trade partner in Europe, behind Germany. Brexit would undoubtedlypose challenges for the trade ties between China and UK. Analysing the dynamics ofChina’s trade ties with a post-Brexit UK and EU, this paper focuses on the China—
UK empirical involvement to establish the ‘Golden Era’ declared by two counterpartsin September 2016 and the implementations of the China—EU partnerships base on
the New EU Trade and Investment Strategy. This paper will also examine if the
Brexit casts a shadow on China’s prospects of economic cooperation with Britain.
This paper will also cover the EU’s efforts to enhance its trade crucial role by seizing
opportunities through partnerships with China, which leads to foster the engagementsof the new issues concerning the China-led ‘Silk Road Economic Belt’ initiative. And
the decision in late January 2020 of both the EU and UK be willing to accept China’s
5G telecommunications company, Huawei, which the USA described as an arm of
the Chinese state giving its security design. Nevertheless, to echo US’s accusation,
UK annonced in July that the UK’s mobile providers are being banned from buying
new Huawei 5G equipment after 31 December 2020.
Index Terms Post-brexit · China’s trade ties · UK · EU

1 Introduction
The biggest challenge posed by Brexit comes from the uncertain future of the British
economy. If the world’s fifth largest economy goes into recession as a result of the
Brexit process, the ramifications for the world economy will be significant, castinga shadow on China’s prospects of economic cooperation with Britain. Originally,
J. Y.-M. Wu (B)Department of International Business, Chung Yuan Christian University, Taoyuan City, Taiwan
e-mail: yomingwu@gmail.com© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
K. Haba and M. Holland (eds.), Brexit and After,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-7969-1_12

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Brexit means that the UK will leave the EU bloc, a unified single market. This
will raise UK’s import tariffs and the price of exports to the EU, and increase nontariff barriers for trade between the UK and EU member states, thus raising tradecommodity prices and dealing a heavy blow to Britain’s international trade. Given
the high economic interdependence of Britain and the EU, the two sides need toexercise prudence in future negotiations on issues related to market treatment.
In 2015, the trade volume between the UK and China reached US$78.5 billion,
following the referendum held in June 2016,when 17.4 million people opted for
Brexit, the trade volume between the UK and China reached US$86.2billion in 2019,
continuously making Britain China’s second largest trade partner in Europe, behind
Germany. Brexit would undoubtedly pose challenges for the Trade Ties between
China and UK. The UK formally left the EU on 31 January 2020, but there is still alot to talk about and months of negotiation to come. If a new trade tie between UK
and EU cannot be agreed in time, which already been tested as being quite possible,
given that the Covid-19 outbreak has postponed the negotiation, then the UK faces
the prospect of having to trade with no deal in place. That would mean tariffs (taxes)
on UK goods travelling to the EU and other trade barriers. From a UK perspective,
it is crucial that the trade tie with China be further enhanced to reduce the impact of
Brexit.
The EU is China’s biggest trading partner, while China is the EU’s second-biggest
trading partner behind the USA. Based on clearly defined interests and principles,the EU should deepen its engagement with China to promote common interests at
a global level. The EU and China launched negotiations on the CAI (EU-China
Comprehensive Agreement on Investment, CAI) in 2014. The European Commission conducted an impact assessment in 2013. A Sustainability Impact Assessment
was carried out between 2015 and 2018 to assess the potential economic, socialand environmental impacts of the agreement. With the EU-China (CAI), the EU
seeks to create new investment opportunities for European companies by opening
China’s market and eliminating discriminatory laws and practices that prevent themfrom competing in the Chinese market on an equal basis with Chinese companies
and companies from other third countries. The EU’s key objective is to significantly
improve EU investors’ access to the Chinese market, in particular by eliminating
quantitative restrictions, equity caps or joint venture requirements.1 According tothe ‘EU-China: A Strategic Outlook’, signed after the EU-China summit in Brussels
on April 9 2019, EU and China agreed to strengthen their trade relationship, cooperate on WTO reform, widen market access, and not force businesses to hand overtheir intellectual property—the last a longstanding complaint of foreign investors in
China.2 Nevertheless, the challenges for both sides to achieve the consensus towards
the conclusion of an ambitious agreement in 2020 are still rigorous.

1 Source: European Commission, News archive, 27 April 2020.
2 Source: Eu (2019).

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2 Dynamics of China’s Trade Tie with a Brexit
Announcement, UK
The notion of a Golden Era in UK–China relations was originated by the government under former Prime Minister David Cameron, to promote Chinese President Xi
Jinping’ UK visit in 2015. The two countries were to form a ‘global comprehensive
strategic partnership’, with the UK representing China’s ‘best partner in the West’.
In December 2017, at the time of the ninth EFD(UK–China Economic and Financial
Dialogue), the British government announced a ‘new phase’ in its so-called Golden
Era of relations with China, with agreements to cooperate more closely in such arenas
as financial services, trade, and investment.3
Brexit has obviously drastically changed the picture of Golden Era. China established its first overseas sovereign RMB bond in London, viewing the UK as a gateway
to the EU market. Unexpectedly, after a Brexit announcement of UK, the decouplingof the EU–UK in trade policy generated potential closer trade ties with China ina post-Brexit UK. Just days after the 2016 referendum, the Brexit secretary, David
Davis, declared that ‘trade deals with the US and China alone will give UK a tradearea almost twice the size of the EU’.4 However, The UK is scanty of obvious sector
that China sees as of compelling benefit to its own interests, so an ambitious deal isunlikely to be agreed speedy.
In terms of the UK’s relative performance at attracting Chinese investment, theUK appears to perform well when compared to its EU partners. The Rhodium Group
reports that over the years 2003–2011, the UK has received the second-most amountof Chinese FDI out of the EU27 (in terms of the total dollar value of investment
deals recorded), behind only France. The well-known Britain’s unclear plant Hinkley
Point C project, notably the first new nuclear plant, is 33.5% financed by China
CGN (China General Nuclear Power Corp). Furthermore, The first Chinese-designed
atomic reactor scheduled to be build in Britain has passed three out of four assessment
stages of the unclear green light of Britain’s Nuclear Regulation office in February,
2020.5 The approval of energy sector from UK hints a policy keen to China. Thisapproach from UK has even allowed Huawei a supporting role in Britain’s fledgling
5G infrastructure. Without concerning the contradictions in five Eye’s alliance which
would evoke the wrath of Donald Trump, the British government approved a restrictedrole for Huawei in building the country’s 5G network announced on January 28,
2020. The constraints imposed by the political reality, UK annonced in July that the
UK’s mobile providers are being banned from buying new Huawei 5G equipment
after 31 December 2020.

3 Source: Turner (2018).
4 Source: Mitter (2020).
5 Source: Reuters (2020).

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The COVID-19 crisis, however, may prove to be a turning point for the UK’s political rebalancing act between USA and China. The development of lockdown restrictions, with an unprecedented health emergency, pushes London’s desire to accommodate Beijing’s market power to the breaking point. However, as this confrontational
approach is met by hawkish retorts to simply amount to a war of words, the UK
would not afford to jeopardize its two important market in China and the USA.6

3 Dynamics of China’s Trade Tie with a Brexit
Announcement EU
3.1 The EU–China Comprehensive Strategic Partnership
The EU’s China strategy is based on a belief that China, under the influence of European engagement, will liberalize its economy toward the direction of sustainablegrowth, improve the rule of law and democratize its politics. The EU–China StrategicPartnership, based on the 1985 trade and cooperation agreement, has grown to include
a multitude of activities in areas such as creating opportunities for both sides’ businesses, international security, environment protection, and academic exchange. After
three decades of extraordinary economic development, China is shifting to a slower
and more sustainable growth path. From the EU’s perspective, the priority is toseize the opportunities through the partnerships with China who commits to a moresustainable growth in which to foster a clean industry and reduce emission. China
sees Europe as a source of technology, lifestyle goods like fashion garments, wine,
cheese, and olive oil for its rising middle class and a market for its high-end products.

3.2 The EU’s Engagement with China’s ‘Belt and Road’
Initiative
At the beginning of China’s ‘Belt and Road’ initiative, the EU originally took advantage of the situation in November 2014 to propose a scale of 315 billion euros ininfrastructure investment plan (Juncker Plan) to connect with China’s ‘Belt and Road’(the Executive Committee launched the Eurasian platform in late 2015), and has also
launched the Trans-European Transportation Network (TEN-T) policy. Moreover,EU’s acting members like Germany, France and Italy have joined the membershipof the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).
However, as China’s ‘Belt and Road’ process has caused a lot of controversy, andthe USA has proposed the ‘Indo-Pacific Strategy’ to counter China’s ‘Belt and Road’,
and has repeatedly appealed and questioned in the international arena that China will
6 Source: Gray (2020).

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use the ‘Belt and Road’ Investment, allowing the landlord’s debt to rise, leading to
doubts such as the transfer of sovereignty to China, has also raised criticism within theEU, mainly focusing on the lack of transparency in the public procurement processthat criticizes China’s ‘Belt and Road’ investment, and the government’s support forcompanies behind it, which causes unfair competition M & A in technology-sensitive
sectors. In addition, China is planning to lay a 350-km high-speed railway between
Greece and Central Europe in the ‘Belt and Road’ project connecting Europe andAsia, connecting Serbia and the capital of Hungary, and benefiting Chinese companies to trade directly with Europe. The EU obstructed the case, accusing Hungary of
violating the EU’s exclusive powers on the common trade policy and the EU’s rules
on national procurement.

3.3 The EU’s Greenlight to Huawei 5G
In 2020, it will move beyond strategic tech sectors like semiconductors, cloudcomputing, and 5G into broader economic activity. Aiming to participate the trend of
5G, in which affect not just the $5 trillion global tech sector, but other industries andinstitutions, EU gave its greenlight to Huawei following the approval of UK. Before
the approval announcement, EU member states have different practices in terms of
joining the USA in blocking Huawei’s infrastructure, giving the move could benefit
the States in its trade bargain with China. Considering Huawei is already the largest
global provider of telecoms equipment and the company is gearing up to roll out 5G
network infrastructure across the globe, certain EU member states hesitate in blocking
Huawei’s infrastructure. According to the EU Commission decision on March 26,
2019, EU member states will be required to share data on 5G cybersecurity risks
and produce measures to tackle them by the end of 2019. Austria, Belgium, Czech
Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, the Netherlands, Lithuania
and Portugal are all preparing to auction 5G licenses in 2020.
Globally, Huawei is a leading 5G technology vendor, enjoying an edge overSweden’s Ericsson and Finland’s Nokia in offering high-tech, low-cost gears totelecommunications operators such as Vodafone. Huawei has decided to set up manufacturing bases of 5G equipment in Europe, in order to have 5G for Europe made inEurope announced in the early February, 2020.

4 Conclusion in Trade Tendency
The EU’s retaining too many of its former favourable terms with Britain would
likely fuel Euroscepticism. Being overly stringent with the UK, however, will harm
the European economy, which is still struggling to recover. Therefore, the two sides
should seek a way to gain maximum benefits for both sides.

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Brexit will nevertheless inhibit the UK’s access to gains by virtue of the unified EU
market. Whatever the proposed plans, investors’ confidence in the prospects for the
UK economy has been shaken, exerting negative impact on economic development.
Britain has still not put forward any plan for discussion. Uncertainty will be a big
feature of the Brexit process over the next few years. Currently, China–UK tradeconsiders competitive lower trade volume, so Britain’s economic recession will not
hugely affect China’s economy. However, the impact of Brexit uncertainty on therecovery of the world economy will definitely influence China’s economy under the‘new normal’.
Confronting the crisis of the Covid-19, global growth will turn sharply negativein 2020, as World Economic Outlook predicted. In fact, we anticipate the worst
economic fallout since the Great Depression. Given the necessary containment
measures to slow the spread of the virus, the world economy is taking a substantial
hit.
Brexit will also likely deal a heavy blow to the British financial industry, as
financial institutions in London face the risk of losing service permits from the other
27 EU member states. In addition, according to EU financial regulations, if a financial
institution set up in the UK is regarded as a third party when entering the EU market,
it must satisfy all supervision requirements set by its home country—Britain—aswell as the EU country, which will significantly hike supervision costs. In the postBrexit era, whether the European Central Bank will allow London to be a euro trading
centre remains to be seen. London’s position as a financial centre, therefore, could
be seriously impaired. All these factors cast gloom on the prospects of China–UK
financial cooperation.
Aiming at interests from bilateral relations with UK, keeping bilateral relations
with Britain ‘golden’ is both economically and politically important for China. From
China’s perspective, as UK depending more and more in China in the future, this will
present a new opportunity for trade. Furthermore, China sees the UK as a politicalpartner and a leading voice for granting China market economy status.
As a country with the world’s largest population and fastest-growing consumer
market due to increasing disposable income, China represents a key market for British
exports. Trade volume has been rising at a steady pace, if there is a trade agreement
reached between the two countries in the future, this growth is sure to continue.
The UK exports a myriad of products to China, representing a cross-section of
British industry and services. Looking at trade in goods only, the UK exported £18.0
billion to China in 2018, a record high, up from £17.4 billion in 2017. UK importsof goods from China were £43.0 billion, up slightly from 2017, resulting in a trade
deficit of -£25.0 billion in trade in goods. The UK had a surplus of £2.9 billion on trade
in services with China in 2018, exporting a record high of £4.6 billion of services
and importing £1.7 billion. The UK has now recorded an overall trade deficit with
China every year.7 The UK’s share of the Chinese market has fallen, and the reason
the UK underperforms in regards to export performance in China is that its more
7 Source: Statistics on UK trade with China. House of Commons library, Number 7379, 5 November

2019.

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successful exports are not in line with China’s current demand. Other EU countries
have stronger trade relationships with China, and competition in the Chinese market
is very tough.
The sectors that provide the greatest income include machinery, fuels, metals,
transportation services, business services, and travel services. However, the volume of
UK exports to China is not exactly aligned with the rate of China’s market growth. As
China’s economy transitions from heavy manufacturing to a service-driven economy,
the balance of demand across the varying industries will shift. With services coming
to the forefront of demand, the UK’s greatest goods exports in terms of value toChina (such as machinery, electronic products, precision instruments, and metals)
will be less in demand. These shifts in China’s calibration should be monitored by
UK-based businesses in order to align offerings with China’s demands, especially as
the UK already excels in its service sector.
With the EU-China (CAI), the EU seeks to create new investment opportunities
for European companies by opening China’s market and eliminating discriminatory
laws and practices that prevent them from competing in the Chinese market on an
equal basis with Chinese companies. The engagement of EU-China (CAI) would beweighted more crucial after Covid-19 crisis.
Overall, the technical debate over securing 5G networks centres on claims the
security from USA. However, a commentary from the technical director of the UK’s
National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) describes this proposition as ‘untrue’. He
asserts the continued feasibility in 5G of separating high-risk vendors from sensitive
data and functions despite the blockaded policy fixed in Trump ministration. Nevertheless, China’s One Road One Belt initiative would be the target to criticize fromboth USA and EU.
In conclusion, for both the EU and UK, an ambitious engagement trade tie with
China would be the main theme to generate an ‘uptick’ for the following years as
China looks to further widely open in response to the trade negotiations with theUSA. China’s trade ties after a Brexit announcement UK and EU would be tighten
in line with launching up to more international investment by China.

References
EU. (2019). EU, China agree to deepen trade ties. The Atlantic Council.
Gray, N. (2020). COVID-19: A ‘Reckoning’ for UK-China relations?
Mitter, R. (2020). With Brexit imminent, what are the chances of a UK trade deal with China?. The
Guardian.
Reuters. (2020). Update 1-China-designed UK nuclear reactor moves a step closer.
Turner, O. (2018) The golden era of UK-China relations meets Brexit. The diplomat.

Chapter 13

BREXIT and India: Challenges
and Opportunities
Pradeep S. Chauhan

Abstract BREXIT provides opportunities and also poses challenges to India. India–
UK relations are both wide ranging and robust, encompassing a broad vision for
the future supported by a concrete and comprehensive road map for bilateral andglobal engagement. High-level visits on both sides in recent times have provided an
opportunity to further cement the partnership.

While the EU is among India’s largest trading partners, accounting for around 13%
of India’s global trade in goods, the UK is ranked 17th in the list of India’s top 25
trading partners with India’s merchandise trade with the UK in 2017–18 estimatedat US$14.5 billion with an additional US$7 billion trade in services. India enjoys afavourable balance of trade with UK. When it comes to investments, UK is ranked as
the fourth largest inward investor in India, after Mauritius, Singapore and Japan, witha cumulative equity investment of US$26 billion since April 2000, accounting foraround 6% of all foreign direct investment into India. India also is a major investor in
the UK (4th largest). Around 800 Indian companies, with a total consolidated revenueof GBP 47.5 billion, have created over 105,000 jobs in the UK. The technology andtelecom sector account for 31% of these revenues, with the pharmaceuticals andchemical sector accounting for 24%.
This study found that the Brexit would have not only impacted UK’s trade andinvestments with the EU but also its other trading and investment partners. Indiancompanies, many of which have invested heavily in the UK are likely to be quite
severely impacted by a no-deal Brexit, particularly those companies that use the
UK as a gateway to the European Union and Europe. Even companies that did nothave a significant exposure to the EU felt the impact as a no-deal Brexit lead to aperceptible economic downturn in the UK. Major investors like the TATA group was
already hedging their bets and exploring alternatives.
The study revealed that irrespective of a hard or a soft Brexit, UK has clearly
identified India as a major partner, particularly in the post-Brexit era. The focus on
P. S. Chauhan (B)Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra, Indiae-mail: pchauhan@kuk.ac.in© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
K. Haba and M. Holland (eds.), Brexit and After,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-7969-1_13

189

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P. S. Chauhan

India by successive regimes and UK different ministries was a testimony to the value
attached to India as a major trading and investment partner.
The present study reviewed and found that the UK and India share much incommon and long and sometimes painful history has brought the two countries
together through language, culture, and legal systems. How these factors, along withclose ties in investment and education, and the presence of 1.45 million people ofIndian heritage in the UK, revealed that the countries have a deep connection. The
post-BREXIT era had opened many gates of opportunities. This era has created an
atmosphere where both the countries have come closer and working closely in thearea of trade, investment and movement of people, global governance, and security
and defence.
The UK ceased to be a member of the EU from February 1, 2020 and is no longer
part of the bloc’s institutions. Its departure took effect under the terms of the revised
divorce agreement struck by London and Brussels in October 2019. The deal consistsof a Withdrawal Agreement on the terms of departure, accompanied by a Political
Declaration on future ties. The divorce terms in the Withdrawal Agreement covermatters such as the UK’s financial settlement, provisions for Northern Ireland, andsafeguards for the rights of EU citizens living in the UK, and Britons living on thecontinent. Under the divorce deal, a transition period came into effect upon the
UK’s departure and will run until December 31, 2020. During this period, many
existing arrangements will remain in place.
The UK left the European Union now an economic and political partnership of
27 countries on January 31, 2020, ‘bringing to an end 47 years of British membership of the EU and the institutions that preceded it’. Attention has since turned tonegotiating the future EU–UK relationship beyond a stand-still transition period that
ends on December 31, 2020 heralding abrupt and major changes unless there isan agreement. Meeting this tight deadline was a huge challenge, even before theonslaught of the coronavirus pandemic which has overwhelmed both sides. But the
British government has rejected calls to extend the transition.
‘Brexit’—‘the term used to describe Britain’s EU departure represents the mostimportant constitutional shake-up the UK has known since it joined the six-nation
European Economic Community in 1973. It is also the first time the European
institution has lost a member first time’.

1 Review of Literatures
In the context of consequences of Brexit, ‘very few studies have been performed.
Oehler et al. (2017) conduct event analysis study analysis to determine short-term
abnormal stock returns following the Brexit referendum. They also examined whether
firm-level internationalization helps in explaining abnormal returns. The study foundthat stock with higher proportions of domestic sales realized more negative abnormal
returns than stocks of firms with more sales abroad’. Irwin (2015) ‘seeks to assess
the evidence on the impact of Brexit on both UK and the rest of Europe. He analysed13 BREXIT and India: Challenges and Opportunities

191

the different channels such as Trade with Europe, FDI, liberalization and regulation,
Industrial policy, Immigration, Financial services, Trade policy, International influence, Budget and Uncertainty. This report concluded that the biggest impact would
be on the UK as compared to EU’. Dhingra et al. (n.d.) concluded that ‘economic
consequences of leaving EU will depend on what policies the UK adopts following
Brexit. They also revealed that Brexit will lower trade with EU and this cost to
UK economy will far more than gain from lower contributions to the EU budget’.
Reenen (2016a, b) predicted that ‘leaving the EU would reduce FDI inflows byaround twenty two per cent and Brexit is likely to have the effect of significantly
lowering FDI coming to UK’. In another study of Reenen (2016a, b), he evaluated‘the long rung economic effects of the UK’s decision to leave the EU. He concluded
that trade cost will arise with the rest of Europe resulted from some combination oftariff and non-tariff barriers. This study used standard multi country, multi sector,
computable general equilibrium model which shows the welfare losses of 1.3–2.6%
where dynamic models revealed the incorporate productivity effects suggests thatthese could rise to 6.3–9.5%’. Miller (2016) ‘discussed in his briefing paper various
consequences in the different areas of Brexit such as Trade relations, economic
impact, employment, agriculture, environment, Fisheries policy, energy and climatechange, transport, Immigration, Human right and social security. He concluded that
Brexit is favourable from the point of view of social security, freedom in policymaking, employment but there will be negative consequences of Brexit in the form ofTrade, inflows of foreign direct investment, communication and mutual international
development’.

2 The Scope of This Study
From the earlier studies, ‘it was found that so many studies have been done to evaluate
the consequences of Brexit on UK and EU but very few studies are carried out toevaluate the impact of Indian economy especially in the context of trade, investment,
defence and security sector. This study tries to fill the gap in the existing literature’.
This study found that the Brexit would have not only impacted UK’s trade andinvestments with the EU but also its other trading and investment partners. Indiancompanies, many of which have invested heavily in the UK are likely to be quite
severely impacted by a no-deal Brexit, particularly those companies that use the
UK as a gateway to the European Union and Europe. Even companies that did nothave a significant exposure to the EU felt the impact as a no-deal Brexit lead to aperceptible economic downturn in the UK. Major investors like the TATA group was
already hedging their bets and exploring alternatives.
The study revealed that ‘Irrespective of a hard or a soft Brexit, UK has clearly
identified India as a major partner, particularly in the post-Brexit era’. The focus on
India by successive regimes and UK different ministries was a testimony to the value
attached to India as a major trading and investment partner.

192

P. S. Chauhan

The present study reviewed and found that the UK and India share much incommon and long and sometimes painful history has brought the two countries
together through language, culture, and legal systems. How these factors, along withclose ties in investment and education, and the presence of 1.45 million people ofIndian heritage in the UK, revealed that the countries have a deep connection. The
post-BREXIT era had opened many gates of opportunities. This era has created an
atmosphere where both the countries have come closer and working closely in thearea of trade, investment and movement of people, global governance, and security
and defence.

3 Background
While there has been a surfeit of reporting and analyses, on the reasons behind
BREXIT, it may be useful to briefly touch upon the European project itself and the
traditional British ambivalence towards it. With its genesis in the aftermath of theWorld War II, the European project was born out of a widely held belief that a moreunited Europe would not again fall prey to the large scale destruction and devastationthat visited the continent in the wake of the two calamitous world wars of the twentiethcentury. However, the UK has always portrayed itself, at least domestically, as areluctant member of the EU. You may recall that it declined to accept an invitation
to join the European Coal and Steel Community, founded in 1951 by the Treaty ofParis. Subsequently with the formation in 1957 of ‘the European Atomic Energy
Community (Euratom) and European Economic Community (EEC) set up under theTreaty of Rome the potential benefits of cooperation became apparent’. This coupledwith the post-war recovery in Germany and France led to a rethink across the channel.
Notwithstanding two failed attempts in 1963 and 1967, UK did succeed in its third
attempt in 1973 to join the EEC. By that time European cooperation had progressed
to a customs union, eliminating all custom duties amongst member states. Within ayear of EEC membership, UK started asking for major changes to agricultural andfarm policies of the EEC that were more beneficial for countries like France. At thispoint, it may be useful to recall that the Norwegians had through a referendum in
September 1972 scuttled Norway’s application for membership of the EEC. Hencethe precedent of a referendum already existed. This influenced Prime Minister Harold
Wilson to hold UK’s first referendum on EU membership on June 5, 1975 and eventhough the British public supported continued membership of the EU with 67%
voting to stay and 33% voting for exiting the EU, within 2 years of entering the EEC,
Britain was already exploring exit options. During the course of its membership ofthe EU, it often sought opt outs over issues like single currency, charter of humanrights, justice and home affairs legislation, etc.

13 BREXIT and India: Challenges and Opportunities

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4 Impact of Brexit
The extent of impact of Brexit on the UK and indeed the EU will depend on whether
UK exits with or without a deal. A no deal Brexit would mean that there would be notransition period after the UK leaves, and EU laws would stop applying to the UK
immediately. Unless countervailing measures are taken, this could have disastrous
consequences for the UK, while EU would not remain entirely unscathed.
There have been various doomsday scenarios envisaged, including in official
documents in the UK, about such an eventuality. It was predicted that Dover port
would close down in a few days and there would be disruption in freight traffic links;
pharmacies in Scotland would run out of essential life-saving drugs in 3 days; foodprices, especially of fresh vegetables and fruits would increase and there could be
empty shelves and higher prices in supermarkets; air travel between the island nationand the continent would be disrupted in the absence of an enabling agreement; ‘UK
students studying in the EU and EU students studying in the UK would face a periodof uncertainty’; immigration controls at entry points into the UK would need to bestrengthened immediately, with the current long queues at immigration counters in
airports like Heathrow increasing manifold and so on. This is not an exhaustive listingof the severe impact that a no deal Brexit would entail but, just an indication of the
disruption and chaos that could ensue. No business can plan ahead when there is somuch uncertainty surrounding a nation. Brexit without a deal could plunge the UK
into chaos and even a recession. The voices of concern of the Bank of England andothers cannot be ignored. World leaders also have been cautioning against a hard
Brexit.
Hundreds of multi-national companies, especially from India, Korea, Japan and
China have invested in UK because of free access to Europe. They are looking at
relocating in order to secure their future business and growth in Europe. Some alreadyhave ‘According to a Bloomberg report earlier this year, 350 British companies werein advanced talks with the Dutch Government to move their businesses to Hollandin the event of a no-deal Brexit. Some Japanese, German, French and even British
Banks were planning to move to Frankfurt. Sony and Panasonic have moved their
headquarters to Netherlands’. All the rhetoric of business with Europe under WTO
rules does not take into account the additional duties that would accrue on British
exports.

5 Impact on India: Challenges and Opportunities
BREXIT provides opportunities and also poses challenges to India. India–UK relations are both wide ranging and robust, encompassing a broad vision for the future
supported by a concrete and comprehensive road map for bilateral and global engagement. High-level visits on both sides in recent times have provided an opportunity
to further cement our partnership.

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P. S. Chauhan

6 Trade, Investment and Movement of People
While the EU is among India’s largest trading partners, accounting for around 13%
of India’s global trade in goods, the UK is ranked 17th in the list of India’s top
25 trading partners with India’s merchandise trade with the UK in 2018–19 estimated at US$14.5 billion with an additional US$7 billion trade in services. India
enjoys a favourable balance of trade with UK. When it comes to investments, UK
is ranked as the fourth largest inward investor in India, after Mauritius, Singapore
and Japan, with a cumulative equity investment of US$26 billion since April 2000,
accounting for around 6% of all foreign direct investment into India. India also isa major investor in the UK (fourth largest). Around 800 Indian companies, with a
total consolidated revenue of GBP 47.5 billion, have created over 105,000 jobs inthe UK. The technology and telecom sector account for 31% of these revenues, withthe pharmaceuticals and chemical sector accounting for 24%. The trade ties can beresumed to the extent when India was one of the three highest trade partners in 2000,
now it is at 17th rank (Table 1).
Brexit will not only impact UK’s trade and investments with the EU but also
its other trading and investment partners. Indian companies, many of which haveinvested heavily in the UK are likely to be quite severely impacted by a no-deal
Brexit, particularly those companies that use the UK as a gateway to the European
Union and Europe. Even companies that do not have a significant exposure to the EU
will feel the impact as a no-deal Brexit will lead to a perceptible economic downturnin the UK. Major investors like the TATA group are already hedging their bets andexploring alternatives.
Both economies rely substantially on their service sectors and while both countries
will focus on enhanced market access for their products and services, for India theimportance of greater and easier access for skilled professionals, as well as students,
Table 1 UK rank as trading partner to India, and India’s total trade

Source House of Common, UK Parliament Report

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195

would be important. The recent decision by the UK to revert to a 2-year post-study
work visa for international students is a welcome development. However, much moreneeds to be done particularly with respect to easier access for Indian professionals
such as doctors, engineers, those in the ICT sector, etc. India will continue to insist
on Mode IV access in negotiating an FTA with the UK. This would not be easy given
UK’s priorities.
Key opportunities for Indian companies post-Brexit could arise in the food andagro products sector since the UK is a net importer of food and food products fromthe EU. It produces about 25% of fruits and vegetables for domestic consumption. While 30% of its fruit consumption comes from Europe, around 80% ofvegetables consumed in the UK is imported from Europe. Indian exporters would
need to comply with the regulatory framework and accompanying phytosanitaryrequirements, depending naturally on what framework the UK adopts.
While London is undoubtedly one of the leading global financial centres andBrexit is unlikely to change that, it will face a huge challenge in case there is aflight of capital after Brexit. A number of Indian companies, particularly PSUs, haveraised rupee-denominated bonds, popularly called masala bonds, in the London Stock
Exchange. UK’s credit rating has been cut and given that most buyers of the bonds
are from the EU, there is nervousness around these bond issuances.
India businesses have ‘presence in a wide array of sectors in the UK which include
automobiles, auto components, pharmaceuticals, gems and jewellery, education and
IT enabled services. Most of these sectors will be vulnerable to changes in demandand currency values’.
Britain’s exit from EU in 2019 could destabilize the steel industry which has
enjoyed the protection of EU labour law and safety standards, as well as barriers
to unfair completion from other countries. If a hard Brexit comes to fruition, those
protections will no longer apply.
The trend of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) showed that the Indian economy
will supersede UK GDP very soon (Table 2).
While there are numerous challenges there are also huge opportunities for Indiancompanies. A study carried out by the Commonwealth Secretariat after the Brexit
vote has identified 13 new products which India can export to the UK. It has estimatedmarket access of around $2 billion for these products. A well-negotiated bilateral
trade arrangement between the UK and India has the potential to increase bilateral
trade by 26%. In fact, the report says that ‘the UK and India can secure a far-reachingdeal which will see the value of British exports to India rise from GBP 4.2 billion to
GBP 6.3 billion, an increase of GBP 2.1 billion, or 33%. Imports from India by the
UK will rise by around GBP 1 billion’. UK’s balance of trade could improve eventhough it may still be in favour of India.

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P. S. Chauhan

Table 2 Gross domestic trade of India and UK

Source House of Common, UK Parliament Report

7 Movement of People
Limits on the movement of people are a major constraint on UK–India ties. ‘Many
Indian nationals come to the UK, and nine in every 10 Indian visa applications to
the UK are granted. However, skilled workers, students, and tourists find the system
unwelcoming, expensive, and difficult to navigate. This has hit key UK export sectors
such as education and tourism, and Indian export sectors such as IT services’. The
trend of students’ movement needed attention and there is a lot of potential to increaseit (Table 3).

8 Security and Defence
The Indian Ocean: Despite these shared interests, the UK and India have sometimes diverged in their position towards China’s role in the Indian Ocean. ‘India isconcerned about China’s growing influence in the region, including its investments in
ports through the Belt and Road infrastructure initiative (BRI). New Delhi has called
for connectivity initiatives to maintain standards of transparency, good governance,and respect for sovereignty’.
It is developing alternative initiatives ‘to meet the region’s infrastructure needs,
including a joint proposal with Japan for an Asia-Africa Growth Corridor, and forging
a deeper-relationship with neighbours’. India has joined Japan, Australia, and the
USA in a revival of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or ‘Quad, an informal

13 BREXIT and India: Challenges and Opportunities

197

Table 3 International students in UK from China and India

Source House of Common, UK Parliament Reportgrouping that aims to defend a free and open Indo-Pacific—widely seen as a response
to growing Chinese influence’.
In conclusion, it can be emphasized that Brexit does provide an opportunity to
expand India’s trade and economic relations with the UK. Much will depend on thefine print of Brexit and the ensuing negotiations. The challenges that Brexit throws
up have to be squarely addressed before an India-UK FTA becomes a reality. Even
though the Indian economy may be in better shape than a post-Brexit UK, we willneed to leverage our strengths so that the complementarities in our economies areharnessed. We need to work towards a win–win situation for both countries so that
we are able to translate adversity into an opportunity for mutual prosperity.
The unfolding saga of Brexit will determine not only the contours of o future
economic engagement of both the nations but also its pace and content.

References
Dhingra, S., Ottaviano, G., Sampson, T., & Reenen, J. V. (n.d.). The consequences of Brexit for UK
trade and living standards. London school of Economics and Political Science (LSE): Centre for
economic performance.
House of Commons, Foreign Affairs Committee “Building Bridges: Re-awakenning UK India Ties”
Eighteenth Report of Session 2017–18.
Irwin, G. (2015). Brexit: The impact on the UK and the EU. Global Counsel, 1–44.
Miller, V. (2016). Brexit: Impact across policy areas. House of Commons Library (Briefing Paper),Retrieved from www.parliament.uk/commons-library | www.intranet.parliament.uk/commonslibrary.

198

P. S. Chauhan

Oehler A., Horn M., & Wendt S. (2017). Brexit: Short-term stock prices effects and the impact offirm-level internationalization. Finance Research Letters, 1–7, Retrieved form https://dx.doi.org/
10.1016/j.frl.2016.12.024.
Reenen, J. V. (2016a). Brexit 2016: Policy analysis. Centre for Economic Performance. London
school of Economics and Political Science (LSE).
Reenen, J. V. (2016b). Brexit’s Long Run effects on the UK economy. Brookings Papers on Economic
Activity, 367–389.

Pradeep S. Chauhan is a well-known political economist. He has been visiting Professor to
many world-renowned intuitions and University including University of Oxford, Paris Schoolof Economics, University of California, Berkeley, USA, Aoyama Gakuin University, Tokyo etc.
He is M.Phil. (Gold Medalist) and Doctorate in Economics. His illustrious academic career also
includes a prestigious French Government Fellowship from the Government of France for which
he pursued his research and teaching at Paris School of Economics, Paris. He has been Agatha
Harrison Memorial Fellow at St. Antony’s College, University of Oxford for some years (2007–2010). Dr. Chauhan has already published 15 books. He is an expert in the development economics
and Economics of Climate Change and the world economy. Dr. Chauhan has completed many
research projects and has authored many quality research publications. He is a member of manynational and international academic bodies. He has presented papers in many national and international conferences. He is currently Director Associated Research for France and South Asia
Fellow at FMSH. He has completed many major and sponsored research projects. He has beenhonored with many national and international awards for excellence in academic research. He
has been a Visitor (President of India) nominee to (Highest Governing Body) Executive Councilof Central University of Haryana and member of Executive Council of Kurukshetra University,
Kurukshetra. He is the Chancellor’s Nominee to many Universities for selection committees andacademic bodies. He has been a visiting Professor at University of California, Berkeley, California, USA. Recently, there is an Indo-Japan joint research collaboration, he is the Lead collaborator of this joint project. He has been appeared on national and international TV channels fordebates and panel discussions. He wrote many articles in national newspaper and magazines. He
has organized many national and international conferences.

Chapter 14

The Influence of Brexit on the UK’s Arms
Trade Policy and Arms Embargo
on China
Yongshu Li

Abstract The UK banned the overall arms trade with China after 1989 Tiananmen
Incident; however, when the EU published its arms control regime in 1998, the UK
immediately left the arms control responsibility to the EU and restarted arms tradewith China. Such UK’s effort at bypassing arms control regulation is understandable
in the context that the EU’s arms embargo on China has been haunting not only theUK, but the ties between every EU member state and China for 30 years. Economies
in the EU, such as France, Spain, Poland, etc., either benefited from favouring lifting
the embargo or suffered from disfavouring lifting the embargo. A policy like such,caused a great debate about it within the EU from 2003 to 2005, and the UK was
the most vital swing member states in the discussion to lift the EU’s arms embargo
on China. As the UK restarted arms trade with China when the EU arms control
regime entered into power, how will the arms trade change as the UK officially left
the regime in February 2020 due to Brexit? The rationales behind the UK’s restart ofarms sales in the 90s and swinging attitude in the 2000s, and the UK’s relation with
China after the Brexit referendum, are critical for projecting the UK’s arms tradewith China after Brexit. This paper proposes a case study into the UK’s arms trade
history with China, and an effort to clarify the influential factors and actors in theview of the Brexit.

1 Exploring a Possible Correlation
The UK banned the overall arms trade with China after 1989 Tiananmen Incident;
however when the EU published its arms control regime in 1998, the UK immediately
left the arms control responsibility to the EU, and restarted arms trade with China.
Such UK’s effort at bypassing arms control regulation is understandable in the context
that the EU’s arms embargo on China has been haunting not only the UK, but the ties
between every EU member state and China for 30 years. Economies in the EU, such
Y. Li (B)Assistant professor, Department of Political Science and Economics, Meiji University, Tokyo,Japane-mail: gtskenlee@gmail.com© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
K. Haba and M. Holland (eds.), Brexit and After,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-7969-1_14

199

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Y. Li

as France, Spain, Poland, etc., either benefited from favouring lifting the embargoor suffered from disfavouring lifting the embargo. A policy like such, caused a great
debate about it within the EU from 2003 to 2005, and the UK was the most vitalswing member states in the discussion to lift the EU’s arms embargo on China.
The UK banned its arms trade with China after the 1989 Tiananmen Incident;
however, when the EU published its arms control regime in 1998, the UK immediately
left the arms control responsibility to the EU and restarted its arms trade with China.
The UK’s overt attempt to bypass arms control regulation is understandable in thecontext that the EU’s arms embargo on China has been haunting not only the UK but
also the ties between every EU member state and China for 30 years. Economies inthe EU, such as France, Spain, Poland, etc., either benefited or suffered from lifting
the embargo. The policy to lift the embargo on China caused great debate within the
EU from 2003 to 2005, with the UK being the most vital of the swing member statesin the discussion.
The UK restarted its arms trade with China when the EU arms control regime
entered into effect, but how will the arms trade change as the UK officially left theregime in February 2020 due to Brexit? The rationales behind the UK’s restart ofarms sales in the 90s and swinging attitude in the 2000s, and the UK’s relations with
China after the Brexit referendum, are critical for projecting the UK’s arms tradewith China after Brexit. This paper proposes a case study into the UK’s arms trade
history with China and an effort to clarify the influential factors and actors in lightof Brexit.

2 The UK’s Limited Concerns
Many countries adopted specific policies and sanctions against the Chinese government for its crackdown during the 1989 Tiananmen Incident. On 6 June 1989, the 12
member states of the European Community (EC) made the following brief statementon the Tiananmen Incident:
The Twelve, deeply shocked by the tragic developments in China, strongly condemn theviolent repression used against peaceful demonstrators, which has resulted in widespreadloss of life there. They note that serious unrest continues.
The Twelve urge the Chinese authorities to stop the use of force against unarmed civilian
population in Peking and elsewhere.
The Twelve appeal to the Chinese leadership to engage without delay in the search for apeaceful solution to the present conflict. Such a solution cannot be attained without political
dialogue.
Continuing repressive actions, in violation of universally recognised human rights principles,
will greatly prejudice China’s international standing and compromise the reform and opendoor policies which the European Community and its member states have actively supported.

14 The Influence of Brexit on the UK’s Arms Trade Policy …

201

The European Community and member states have already taken a number of measures,
including suspension of high contacts, and will continue to keep developments in China
under urgent review.1

Most of the EC member states took reaction individually on the Tiananmen Incident. The Government of the UK decided to take actions as below, reported by
Geoffrey Howe, then-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs to
the House of Commons:• all scheduled ministerial exchanges between Britain and China have been suspended.
The visit of the Chinese Minister of Justice, who was due to arrive here tomorrow, hasbeen cancelled. My Rt Hon Friend, the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, hasalso cancelled his forthcoming visit to China.
• the proposed visit of Their Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess of Wales to China
in November clearly cannot take place so long as those responsible for the atrocities overthe past weekend remain in control of the Chinese Government;• all high-level military contacts with China have been suspended;• all arms sales to China have been banned.2

It was the first appearance of the UK’s arms embargo, which was even earlier thanthe EC’s ban. At the European Political Cooperation meeting on 12 June 1989, theforeign ministers of the EC member states believed that positions should be taken, if
not already taken by a member state; further statements could be made on the basisof the 6 June statement; however, it appeared not necessary to do so.3 On 21 June,
the Far Eastern Department of the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO)suggested to the British Government that it was important to maintain communication
with China rather than to sever it, as it would highly benefit the Chinese population.4
On 22 June, the French and Dutch Governments separately contacted the British
Government regarding the forthcoming Madrid European Council Summit. France
urged for the condemnation of the crackdown to end, and proposed that a unified
package of specific measures could be considered while the Netherlands suggested
that there should be common measures taken by the Twelve.5
Consequently, on 26 and 27 June, the European Council of Ministers of EC held
the summit in Madrid and declared the following sanctions policies against China:• Raising the issue of human rights in China in the appropriate international fora; asking
for the admittance of independent observers to attend the trials and to visit the prisons;• Interruption by the Member States of the Community of military cooperation and an
embargo on trade in arms with China;
1 European Council, 6 June, 1989, Statement by the Twelve on China, FEC 014/3, File C, Madrid.
2 Geoffrey Howe, 6th June, 1989, FEC 014/3, Statement on Events in China and Their Implicationsfor Hong Kong, House of Commons.
3 European Political Cooperation: Ministerial Meeting, 12 June, 1989, Briefing No. 5: China, FEC

014/3, Luxembourg.
Eastern Department of the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office, 21 June, 1989,
Anglo/Chinese Relations, FEC 020/7.
5 Secretary of State of the UK Government, 22 June, 1989, Anglo-Chinese Relations, FEC 020/7.
4 Far

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Y. Li

• Suspension of bilateral ministerial and high-level contacts;• Postponement by the Community and its Member States of new cooperation projects;• Reduction of programs of cultural, scientific and technical cooperation to only those
activities that might maintain a meaning in the present circumstances;• Prolongation by the Member States of visas to the Chinese students who wish it.
Taking into account the climate of uncertainty created in the economic field by the present
policy of the Chinese authorities, the European Council advocates the postponement of theexamination of new requests for credit insurance and the postponement of the examinationof new credits of the World Bank.6

As shown above, the UK imposed an arms embargo on China in the very beginning,
but did not consider it as worthwhile to further strengthen the sanctions. As a matter offact, in the years following 1989, most of the sanction policies were lifted except for
the arms embargo. The existing arms embargo itself has many critical weaknesses.
It was a political declaration by the European Council. The member states reacheda consensus on the issue and published the sanctions. There was no legal instrument
bound to the sanctions. Moreover, there was no unified definition of an arms embargo
in the EC at the time. Such a situation left a loophole on the arms embargo for member
states, especially the UK, to manoeuvre.

3 For the Emerging Partnership
The late 90s were significant as during that time a number of historical events in
UK–China relations took place, many of which could have influenced the UK’s arms
exports to China, namely, the UK’s handover of Hong Kong to China in July 1997,
cleared one of major barriers of the UK–China relations. In 1997, the EU member
states also stopped supporting a resolution condemning China’s human rights at the
UNCHR and the first UK–China Human Rights Dialogue was held in September. In
1998, the comprehensive partnership between the EU and China was launched and,most significantly, the Code of Conduct on Arms Export of the EU was published.7
The following analysis will focus on human rights issues and the Code of Conduct,as these still majorly impact the UK’s policy towards China today.
In the sanctions published by the EC, member states were required to raisehuman rights issues at international fora. Consequently, the EU, along with the USA,
condemned China by making resolutions at the UNCHR until 1996. However, several
issues stopped the EU’s condemnation of China and divided the EU from within. In
July 1995, in the hopes of promoting EU–China relations, the EU published ‘A longterm policy for China–Europe relations’ and launched a human rights dialogue with
China. In 1996, there was a sign from the Asia–Europe Meeting (ASEM) that the EU
was willing to suspend human rights criticism in exchange for stronger economic ties
6 European Council, 1989, ‘Declaration of European Council, Madrid, 27/6/1989’.
7 The United Nation Commission of Human Rights (UNCHR) was replaced by the United Nation

Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in 2006.

14 The Influence of Brexit on the UK’s Arms Trade Policy …

203

with Asian countries.8 At the ASEM meeting, France tried to squeeze out concessions
from China by promising to drop the criticism of China at the UNCHR.9
In 1997, the UNCHR held its sessions in Geneva from 10 March to 18 April,and Denmark drafted a resolution to censure China on the occasion. In Beijing on 8
April, Chinese President Zemin Jiang promised the French Defense Minister Millonthat China would join the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights and sign treaties as well.10 China also praised the French approach to humanrights and criticized the EU and the USA for the UNCHR resolution issue. France
took the chance, immediately declined the co-sponsorship of the resolution at the
UNCHR and signed the ‘Joint Declaration for a Global Partnership’ between France
and China in May.11
The UK soon followed suit and raised proposals to China to see if there were any
alternative ways to address the human rights issues, such as a dialogue. In June, theChinese Vice Minister Yingfan Wang replied to the UK with the following:
Both sides envisaged a new start, including the expansion and deepening of exchanges in all
fields. There were differences of view between us on human rights. It was important to findways of handling differences. [……] Both sides should adopt a long-term perspective.

To which the UK replied:
we wanted a forward looking discussion, without preconditions.12

The discussion about holding the human rights dialogue between the UK andChina went on for several months. In September, Yongxiang Shen, the Chinese
Division Director in the International Organisations Department finally accepted theUK’s proposal for a human rights dialogue in September, with a commentary sayingthat ‘the UK was the only big country in the EU which insisted on the “anti-China”
resolution at UNCHR in Geneva’, and he hoped ‘the situation would change’ andthat the dialogue would play a role in the development of the UK’s policy.13 As
the EU incoming Presidency in 1998, the UK was keen to see the constructive and8 “European leaders went into last weekend’s Bangkok summit conference hoping they could tiptoe

around human rights, promote exports to Asia and enhance their presence in the region,” AlanFriedman, 5th March, 1996, ‘After Pledges at Asia Summit, Europe Faces Cost’, nytimes.com,
https://www.nytimes.com/1996/03/05/news/05iht-summit.t_3.html, accessed 4th May, 2020.
9 Human Rights Watch, March 1, 1997, C903, Chinese Diplomacy, Western Hypocrisy and the U.N.
Human Rights Commission.
10 China aims to deflect criticism on rights, deseretnews.com, 8th April, 1997, https://www.desere
tnews.com/article/553761/China-aims-to-deflect-criticism-on-rights.html, accessed 4th May, 2020.
11 At the time, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Greece also dropped sponsoring resolutions condemning
China; this group of EU member states is particularly focusing on economic ties with China andtherefore gained the nickname of the “Airbus Club,” named after the fact that the French Government
often focuses on promoting the Airbus Company.
12 Foreign and Commonwealth Office, June 1997, SUBJECT: MEETING WIT HWANG
YINGFAN, 26 JUNE: HUMAN RIGHTS, 073,271 MDHIAN 5667.
13 Foreign and Commonwealth Office, September 1997, SUBJECT: CHINA: HUMAN RIGHTSDIALOGUE: NEXT STEPS, 076,553 MDHIAN 2218.

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Y. Li

substantive development of relations with China, and therefore complied with therequest.
Thereafter, the EU member states started to focus on their bilateral human rights
dialogue with China rather than criticism at the UNCHR. In February 1998, theGeneral Affairs Council of the EU officially announced that ‘neither the Presidency
nor member states should table or co-sponsor a draft Resolution at the next UN
Commission on Human Rights’.14 Immediately afterwards, in March, the Commission published a communication on ‘Building a Comprehensive Partnership with
China’.15
On the other hand, as an effort to fix the void of an arms control regime, the EU
adopted the Code of Conduct on Arms Exports in 1998, which better regulated thearms trade of the EU.16 As previously stated, it could be said that the EC did not evenknow what ‘arms’ they were referring to when they decided on the arms embargo
on China. As argued by Caruso, it was not a unified policy but a sum of similar
policies.17 It was a publication of the very similar and ambiguous declarations ofmany states, at the same time. The consequence of the Code’s characteristics wasthat the involved countries could adopt any interpretation of the policy they wished.
For example, the UK interpretation was:Lethal weapons, such as machine guns, large caliber weapons, bombs, torpedoes, rockets
and missiles;
Specially designed components of the above and ammunition;
Military aircraft and helicopters, vessels of war, armoured fighting vehicles and other such
weapons platforms;
Any equipment which might be used for internal repression;
See our guide on the UK Military List. The Military End Use Control does not apply to
China.18

In comparison, the French never offered a clear interpretation; France only
mentioned technology through its Minister of Defense Charles Millon, on 8 April
1997 in Beijing:With the Chinese leaders, we discussed reinforcing cooperation in three areas:• Very high level strategic dialogue;• The exchange of information and training;
14 The General Affairs Council of the EU, 23rd February, 1998, Press: 44 Nr: 6060/98,
consilium.europa.eu, https://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/en/gena/
6060EN8.htm, accessed 25th April, 2020.
15 The European Commission, 25th March, 1998, COM (1998) 181 final, Building a Comprehensive
Partnership with China, accessed 25th April, 2020.
16 The Council of European Union, 5 June, 1998, European Union Code of Conduct on Arms
Exports, 8675/2/98, Rev 2, Brussels.
17 Raul Caruso, 2005, ‘To Lift or not to Lift? A Few Notes on the Lifting of the European Arms
Embargo on China’, Crossroads, Vol. 5, pp. 8–9.
18 ‘Arms embargo on China’, businesslink.gov.uk, https://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/
detail?itemId=1084113496&type=RESOURCES, accessed 15th January, 2020.

14 The Influence of Brexit on the UK’s Arms Trade Policy …

205• Cooperation in the technical, technological and infrastructure fields.
This technological and industrial cooperation will be conducted within the framework of our
European and international commitments.19

Having no detailed definition of the key items, it is plausible to sidestep such an
ambiguous arms embargo. As in the UK’s statement, the Military End Use Control
does not apply to China; however, the Military End Use Control is the UK’s domestic
arms control regime. The UK’s interpretation is a clear statement saying that the arms
embargo on China only applies at the EU level but not at the UK’s domestic level.
Not to mention, France never clarified its arms embargo regime in China. Moreover,
the United States is particularly unsatisfied with the ambiguity of the terms in thearms embargo and has been urging the EU to revise and strengthen it.
It should be further noted that the implication of the arms embargo has become
more complicated over time, which causes difficulties in lifting it. Though the sanction came into force only as the EC’s condemnation of the Chinese Government’s
behaviour in the Tiananmen Incident, the embargo soon attracted the attention ofinternational human rights groups. It was no longer about the Tiananmen Incident,
but about any violation to human rights in any part of China at any level, even if thehuman rights situation is better than what it was before 1989. The very existence ofthe embargo has been directly connected to the EU member states’ attitude to humanrights violation.
Also, after the end of the Cold War, the embargo emerged with strategic implications. Its existence could contain China’s influence on the regional military balance,such as concerning the security of the Taiwan Strait and China and Japan’s potential
collision over the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands. The USA, Taiwan, Japan, and many othercountries and regions have become concerned about the arms embargo, since lifting
the embargo might lead to the enhancement of China’s military rise.

4 The Atlantic Rift
By the end of 2002, France, Germany, the UK, and Italy started consulting each otheron the possibility of lifting the embargo, though it was still too early to bear any
result.20 On 10 September 2003, the Commission announced its ‘A Maturing Partnership—shared interests and challenges in EU–China relations’ policy paper. The
policy paper reaffirmed the continuing will for science and technology cooperationand suggested the impending negotiations on a future nuclear research cooperation
19 Source: Paris Agence France Presse (in French) 8 April 1997, cited by SIPRI in ‘French statement
on interpretation of EU arms embargo against China’, sipri.org, https://www.sipri.org/databases/
embargoes/eu_arms_embargoes/china/french, accessed 29th January, 2020. There is also an English
version of this piece of news, provided by the Agence France Presse, available from the Factiva
Database.
20 May-Britt U. Stumbaum, 2009, The European Union and China: decision-making in EU foreignand security policy towards the People’s Republic of China: Baden-Baden: Nomos, p. 177.

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Y. Li

agreement.21 Having felt the heating up of EU–China relations, on 20 September,France, the UK, and Germany had a mini-summit and once again discussed thepossibility of lifting the EU’s embargo on China.22
And the first clear signal of lifting the EU’s arms embargo on China was on 12
December 2003. During the summit of the European Council, the French President
Jacques Chirac led the lobbying campaign to the European states. The campaign
was quite successful; even the traditional ally—who promoted the Iraq War with the
USA—the British Prime Minister Tony Blair was persuaded and agreed to review
the embargo, without any realization of the future reaction from Washington.23
On 2 April 2004, the EU Political and Security Committee discussed issues
related to lifting the arms embargo on China. France led the pro-lifting campaign and
Denmark stood the firmest on the human rights ground. Other member states were
somewhere in between with preferences. France insisted that (1) the embargo should
go without conditions; (2) consequently there was no reason to strengthen the Codeof Conduct or legally bind it; (3) the embargo and lifting it should be political, and adecision should be made rather than sending it to working groups. The UK favoured
a working groups’ review of China’s human rights, regional influence, and the Code;however, fundamentally the UK was pro-France, arguing that the Code should not
be legally binding.24
Parallel to discussion developments within the EU, the USA strengthened its
lobbying against lifting the arms embargo. In October 2004, the UK’s support tothe lift changed, as US President Bush put pressure on the UK the British Foreign
Minister Straw told the public that they were not ‘in any sense against lifting theembargo, but it has got to be done in a proper and sensible manner’.25 Eventually,
the EU gave up lifting the embargo in 2005 as China passed the Anti-Secession Law.
Nonetheless, the EU’s 2-year discussion on lifting the arms embargo showed that the
UK could turn to be supportive to arms sales to China given the right conditions.

21 Commission of the European Communities, 10 September, 2003, COM (2003) 533 final, Commission Policy Paper for Transmission to the Council and the European Parliament: A maturing
partnership-shared interests and challenges in EU-China relations.
22 May-Britt U. Stumbaum, 2009, The European Union and China: decision-making in EU foreignand security policy towards the People’s Republic of China: Baden-Baden: Nomos, p. 177.
23 Ewen MacAskill and Jonathan Watts, 2nd August, 2004, ‘Blair caught in middle over China arms
ban’, guardian.co.uk, https://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2004/aug/02/china.eu, accessed 4 May,
2020.
24 ‘Subject: China Arms Embargo: April 2 PSC Debate and Next Steps for US’, The US Diplomatic
Cable, Reference No. 04BRUSSELS1510, created 7th April, 2004, from the US Embassy, Brussels,
Belgium.
25 Graham Bowley, 13th October, 2004, ‘Ministers disagree on ending China ban: European Union
lifts arms embargo on Libya’, nytimes.com, https://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/13/news/13iht-t3_
33.html, accessed 16 April, 2020.

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5 The UK’s Exit Plan and Reality
As a result of the 23 June 2016 UK referendum, the UK was set to leave the EU.
The first human rights dialogue between the UK and China after the Brexit decision
took place in Beijing on 27–28 June 2017, and it served as the first weather vane forthe direction of UK–China relations:
The Dialogue provides a valuable channel to get into the detail of our human rights concerns
and to raise specific cases. The fact the Chinese side responded comprehensively underlinesthat they do pay attention. It also gives us scope to strengthen our hand in other dialogues
by covering issues that have read across, e.g. the death penalty which is relevant both to our
MOU on modern slavery and human trafficking (a crime punishable in theory by the death
penalty in China) and extradition—both priority topics under the Security Dialogue.
Yet there is increasing criticism from some in the NGO community that human rights
dialogues are at best going through the motions and at worst serving as a fig leaf for bothsides to avoid raising difficult issues at Ministerial level. However, we judge that it is worth
continuing with the dialogue (only a few others still have one, including the EU, Switzerland
and the Netherlands) provided it is not as an alternative to senior Ministerial engagementon human rights issues. And we should be confident in pushing back on criticism of thisapproach.26

Human rights concerns have often been said to be the major reason for keeping
the arms embargo on China; nevertheless, it can be seen from the above that the UK
Government official was satisfied with the progress made with China and that the
government was ‘confident in pushing back on criticism’ from the NGO community.
Specifically, on the arms embargo itself, upon an information disclosure request to
the FCO, the following answer was given concerning how the UK interprets the arms
embargo on China post-Brexit:
I can confirm that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) does hold information
relevant to your request.
The information has been withheld using Section 27 (international relations) and Section 35(formulation of government policy).
The information you request is exempt under Section 35(1)(a) of the Act which also requires
the application of a public interest test. It is recognised that there is public interest in thegreater transparency in the decision making process to ensure accountability within publicauthorities. However, officials need to be able to conduct rigorous and candid risk assessmentsof their policies and programmes including considerations of pros and cons without there
being a risk of premature disclosure which might close off better options and inhibit the free
and frank discussion of all policy options. For these reasons, we consider that the public
interest in maintaining this exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing it.
The information is also exempt under Section 27(1)(a) of the FOIA. This section recognises
the need to protect information that would be likely to prejudice relations between the United
Kingdom and other states if it was disclosed. In this case, the premature release of information
relating to the formulation of government policy could harm our relations with China.
We hope you find it helpful to know, though, that the Government has introduced to Parliament a Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Bill to ensure the UK has the legal powers

26 Interlocutor at the FCO, 19 March 2018.

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to maintain sanctions after we leave the EU, where required. The design of specific sanctions regimes will be determined in due course, including where required through secondary
legislation. We have a legal obligation to implement UN sanctions. Our approach to non-UN
sanctions is under consideration.27

The Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Bill mentioned above, is ‘An Act tomake provision enabling sanctions to be imposed where appropriate for the purposesof compliance with United Nations obligations or other international obligations’,as described in the Act itself.28 The Act does not further define or enforce anything
in the preexisting arms control regime in the UK; its function is to enable further
legislative options. In other words, so far nothing changed.

6 The UK’s Deal
Since 2016, the UK government has barely voiced its view on its arms trade with
China. There are two reasons to be considered as the cause for the silence: first, theUK government has been pulling its strength together to push forward a soft Brexit,
in which progress could barely be seen. There is simply no time or will to put arms
trade with China in the spotlight. Another reason is that Trump has been very vocal
about his attitude about China during his election campaign, and it has not changed
since he won the election. The UK had already learned its lesson about going against
the USA for China during the 2003–2005 debate about lifting the arms embargo, andthus knew that it would be wiser to remain silent.
Although there has not been much discussion or change policy wise, themost recent developments are enlightening. Reports by the UK’s Department forInternational Trade have given a clear recent record of the UK arms trade with
China:
SIELs—Permanent and Temporary (excluding Incorporation and Transhipment)
IssuedTypes of goods on licence

No. of licences

Military

60£6,087,275

Non-military

759£204,178,278

Both Military and Non-military
Total

Value

3

£4,762,496

822£215,028,049

Chart (1) The UK’s Export Licensing Decision on China, 2016.29
27 East Asia Department of the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office, FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000 REQUEST REF: 1235-17, email received on 5 March 2018.
28 The UK Parliament, Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018, available at https://www.
legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2018/13, accessed on 13 April, 2020.
29 Department for International Trade of the UK Government, October 2019, Strategic Export
Controls: Country Pivot Report 1st January 2016–31st December 2016, pp. 140–141.

14 The Influence of Brexit on the UK’s Arms Trade Policy …

209

SIELs—Permanent and Temporary (excluding Incorporation and Transhipment)
IssuedTypes of goods on licence

No. of licences

Value

Military

65£11,672,708

Non-military907£366,322,070

Both Military and Non-military
Total

1

£29,360

973£378,024,137

Chart (2) The UK’s Export Licensing Decision on China, 2017.30
SIELs—Permanent and Temporary (excluding Incorporation and Transhipment)
IssuedTypes of goods on licence

No. of licences

Value

Military

67£7,624,331

Non-military899£472,977,428

3£884,211

969£481,485,970

Both Military and Non-military
Total

Chart (3) The UK’s Export Licensing Decision on China, 2018.31
The Standard Individual Export Licences (SIELs) from 2016 to 2018 show asteady rise in the UK’s arms trade with China from 215 million pounds to 481 million
pounds worth of trade. The most recent SIEL, released in April 2020, indicated thatthe following trade took place between the UK and China during 2019:“……
SIELs—Permanent and Temporary (excluding Incorporation and Transhipment)
IssuedTypes of goods on licence
Military

No. of licences

Value

42

£43,765,271

Non-military1004£481,762,688

Total

1046

£525,527,960

The SIELs issued were granted for goods with the following ‘Control Entries’(for permanent export except where the case summary description is preceded by a T,
which indicates a Temporary Export). Please note that more than one ‘Control Entry’can apply to goods on an individual licence and each ‘Control Entry’ is counted only
30 Department for International Trade of the UK Government, April 2020, Strategic Export Controls:
Country Pivot Report 1st January 2017-31st December 2017, pp. 183–184.
31 Department for International Trade of the UK Government, April 2020, Strategic Export Controls:
Country Pivot Report 1st January 2018–31st December 2018, pp. 131–132.

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once per individual licence (regardless of the number of goods that have been rated
with that ‘Control Entry’):
Military
Control entry

No. of licences with goods rated using Control Entry

Value

ML1

1

£280

ML2

2

£8,000ML44£225,982

ML5

1£500,000ML96£42,562,538

ML10

4

£104,088ML11

11£112,443

ML15

1

£0

ML17

1

£216,833ML18

1£3,327ML21

7£4,278ML22

14£27,501…32
RefusedCount
Military2

Non-military

67

Total

69

The SIELs refused were not granted for goods with the following ‘Control Entries’(for permanent export except where the case summary description is preceded by a T,
which indicates a Temporary Export). Please note that more than one ‘Control Entry’can apply to goods on an individual licence and each ‘Control Entry’ is counted only
once per individual licence (regardless of the number of goods that have been rated
with that ‘Control Entry’):
Military
Control entry

No. of licences with goods rated using Control Entry

ML15

1

ML22

2

32 See Appendix 1 for the details of the trades.

14 The Influence of Brexit on the UK’s Arms Trade Policy …

211

military infrared/thermal imaging equipment.
technology for military aero-engines.
technology for military infrared/thermal imaging equipment.”33
It can be seen from the above data that just one SIELs category allowed 42 licencesof exports of military goods, amounting to £43,765,271 worth of products, coveringballistic test equipment, components/technologies for combat aircraft, naval vessels,
auxiliary vessels, etc., and it merely accounts for a fraction of the UK’s exports ofsimilar nature in 2019.

7 Conclusion
As the discussion in each section has shown, the UK has been quite pragmatic andconsistent at addressing both the human rights issue and arms exports with China.
Immediately after the 1989 Tiananmen Incident, the UK imposed sanctions like other
EC member states, however, its interest in embargoing China was very limited. In
1998, the UK was eager to improve its overall relationship with China, and was
willing to drop the UNCHR censure on the human rights situation of China. In thesame year that the EU published its arms control regime, the UK restarted arms
exports to China. During the 2003–2005 EU internal great debate regarding lifting
the arms embargo, Tony Blair first agreed to revisit the arms embargo issue, whichmarked the start of the arms embargo debate. During the whole debate, the UK
mostly supported lifting the arms embargo, though eventually reserved its opinion
in consideration of its US alliance.
After the Brexit referendum, evidence showed that the UK was positive about
the UK–China Human Rights Dialogue, and intended to push back at criticism of
the dialogue. As to the arms export between the UK and China, data since 2016 has
further shown that the UK has licenced a huge amount of military-related exports,
which is a trend that is very likely to continue in the future.

Appendix 1: List of SIELs Military Trade Items
This is a detailed list of trade items of military nature, licensed as SIELs by the UK
government, and they were granted permission to be traded to either Chinese government and military, or any counterpart of similar nature within China. The related
footnotes were also extracted as they were in the document and listed following theitem list.34
33 Department for International Trade of the UK Government, April 2020, Strategic Export Controls:
Country Pivot Report 1st January 2019–31st December 2019, pp. 122–131.
34 Department for International Trade of the UK Government, April 2020, Strategic Export Controls:
Country Pivot Report 1st January 2019–31st December 2019, pp. 122–131.

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ballistic test equipment (8 licences).
components for ballistic test equipment (2 licences).
components for combat aircraft [See footnote 111].
components for combat naval vessels (2 licences) [See footnote 53].
components for military auxiliary/support vessels.
components for military guidance/navigation equipment [See footnote 105].
components for military infrared/thermal imaging equipment.
T components for military support aircraft.
components for range finding equipment.
equipment for the production of military aero-engines [See footnote 9].
equipment for the use of ballistic test equipment (4 licences).
general military aircraft components [See footnote 1].
general naval vessel components (2 licences).
military aircrew safety equipment.
military auxiliary/support vessels [See footnote 55].
military communications equipment.
military diving apparatus.
munitions/ordnance detection/disposal equipment (4 licences) [See footnotes 104,12, 92].
projectile launchers (2 licences).
software for ballistic test equipment (7 licences).
technology for air defence systems.
technology for ballistic test equipment (3 licences).
technology for combat aircraft (2 licences) [See footnote 39].
technology for combat naval vessels (2 licences).
technology for general naval vessel components.
technology for military aircraft head-up/down displays.
technology for military combat vehicles.
technology for military diving apparatus [See footnote 48].
technology for military electronic equipment [See footnote 45].
technology for military guidance/navigation equipment.
technology for military infrared/thermal imaging equipment.
technology for military patrol/assault craft (3 licences).
technology for targeting equipment.
technology for weapon night sights.
technology for weapon sights.
T weapon sights [See footnote 40].
…
Country Footnotes
1. A declaration by the Madrid European Council on 27 June 1989 establishedan arms embargo on China. The UK interpretation of this embargo applies to: lethal
weapons such as machine guns, large calibre weapons, bombs, torpedoes, rockets
and missiles; specially designed components of these items and ammunition; military
aircraft and helicopters, vessels of war, armoured fighting vehicles and other such

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213

weapons platforms; any equipment which might be used for internal repression. All
exports for this destination were approved in accordance with the sanctions in place.
Case and Goods Footnotes
1. Licence granted for civilian/commercial end use.
…
9. Licence granted for commercial end use.
…
12. Licence granted for explosive detection/disposal purposes. Law enforcement
agency end use.
…
39. Licence granted for marketing and promotional purposes, including demonstration to potential customers, temporary exhibitions.
40. Licence granted for goods which will be returned to the UK. Commercial end
use.
…
45. Licence granted for manufacturing purposes.
…
48. Licence granted for manufacturing purposes. Commercial end use.
…
53. Licence granted for components/accessories/spare parts. End use by the(Military) Navy.
…
55. Licence granted for disaster/emergency response purposes.
…
92. Licence granted for explosive detection/disposal purposes. Law enforcement
agency end use.
…
104. Licence granted for explosive detection/disposal purposes.
105. Licence granted for components/accessories/spare parts.
…
111. Licence granted for academic/civilian end users.

Yongshu Li Graduated from the Ocean University of China with a B.A. in English in 2007. Immediately after graduation, he was enrolled into the East Asian Studies Program in the Centre for East
Asian Studies at the University of Bristol. Upon receiving his M.Sc. in 2009, he entered the Political Science Program at the Meiji University Graduate School of Political Science and Economics,
and pursued studies mainly on the theme of arms trade between the European Union (EU) andChina. He received his Ph.D. in Political Science in 2013 and has since been conducting researchin areas including EU policy on high-tech export, lobbying activities in the EU, military cooperation between Ukraine and China, and Brexit. After serving as Research Associate and Lecturer at
the Meiji University School of Political Science and Economics, he assumed his current positionin 2018 as the Assistant Professor.