Brexit and the Poverty of Popular Democracy in Great Britain: An Analytical Perspective

Abstract

In the contemporary international system, the trend towards collective security through regional integration for economic and political stability is unmistakable. The European Union, often touted as the quintessential example of a stable and secure regional economic alliance was developed by the contiguous countries of Western Europe for fundamentally strategic reasons. It was basically informed inter alia, by the need to prevent a re-occurrence of war between Germany and France, the two belligerents that dragged the entire world into war twice in one century. Bringing the two countries together in a cooperative prosperity circle, in concert with other European countries, is considered to be a useful means to economic and political stability in the region. The decision of Britain to exit the Union via a domestic referendum therefore, promises to have severe repercussions, not only for the Union, but more fundamentally for Britain itself. Making use of Library Research and content analysis methodologies in an explanatory, historical, and qualitative analytical perspective, the paper examined the roots of the Brexit narrative, and within that context, analysed the plausible consequences of Britain’s exit from the Union. The paper concluded that not only will Europe and indeed Africa be hurt by it through the consequences of a possible domino effect on regional organisations and separatist groups worldwide, but also in its reactionary implications, is bound to take Europe back a couple of steps.