GLYN MORGAN BLOG: EUROPEAN POLITICS .... and other things that come to mind etc.: October 2019

The Politics of Brexit

Professor Glyn Morgan

SU Abroad—London Program

May-June 2020

Draft Syllabus

The aim of the class is to understand the cultural, historical, socio-economic, and political factors that led Britain to vote to leave the European Union. We will look at the causes, consequences, and the process of Brexit. What do these tell us about British politics and society? How will Britain survive outside of the EU? Will Britain become more dependent on the USA? What does Brexit mean for Scotland, Wales, and Ireland (both Ulster and the Republic? What effect will Brexit have on Britain’s racial and ethnic minorities—including current and future immigrants.

This course will be taught in Faraday House, London. We will have a number of visiting speakers from the political, commercial, and national security worlds. We will also make four short visits within Central London to locations (whether a museum, park, building or market) that symbolize European Britain, Commercial Britain, Imperial Britain, and Post-Imperial Britain.

Class Assignments

Short Quiz based on the reading                                                                                 25% of Grade

A 750 word Blog Post on one of the themes of the class                                            35% of Grade

A 15 Minute self-filmed “documentary” or a 10 page essay on an issue related to Brexit       40%

There are no required texts to purchase.

There is NO final exam.

TOPICS and READINGS

1. Britain, Europe, and the EU

The EU (as we now know it) was formed in 1957. Why did it take the UK until 1972 until it joined? When and Why did Britain turn Eurosceptic? When did Eurosceptics become Leavers? Why did David Cameron call a referendum in 2016?

Book:

Kevin O’Rourke, A Short History of Brexit (selections)

Hugo Young, This Blessed Plot: Britain and Europe from Churchill to Blair (selections)

Articles/Blogs:

Mathew d'Ancona, “Brexit: How a Fringe Idea Took Hold of the Tory Party,” Guardian June 15 2016.

John Lanchester, ‘Brexit Blues,’ LRB, 38: 15 (2016).

Ivan Rogers (2017), The History and Origins of Brexit

Ivan Rogers (2017), “The Inside Story of How David Cameron drove Britain to Brexit,”

Movies/Documentaries:

• “How Britain Lost Europe” (FT, December 2016) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqT1lneQ28Q

• Them or US (Part One)

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lg0LncoE060&t=40s

• Them Or Us (Part Two)

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HD2ypyiBssY&t=2540s

• The Poisoned Chalice (in Four Parts)

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5Hawmir29w&t=287s

2. Austerity, the Left-behind, and Neo-Liberalism

Some people argue that Brexit was a direct consequence of one or more of the following: (i) “neo-liberal policies” in the period 1997-2008; (ii) The Great Financial Crisis of 2008-2010; and (iii) the Austerity Policies of the Tory Governments 2010-2016. These explanations all emphasize economic causes of Brexit. Are they right to do so? Or is Brexit better explained with reference to cultural factors?

Book

Ian Fraser, Shredded: Inside the Bank that Broke Britain

Simon Wren-Lewis, The Lies We Were Told: Politics, Economics, Austerity, and Brexit (Selections)

Lisa Mackenzie, Getting By (selections)

Articles/Blogs

                        Pippa Norris, Trump, Brexit, and the Rise of Populism

                        William Davies, Populism and the Limits of Neoliberalism

                        Simon-Wren Lewis, What Brexit and Austerity tell us about Economics, Policy and the Media

John Gray, The Strange Death of Liberal Politics

Movies/Documentaries

The Bank that Almost Broke Britain

John Harris, Anywhere But Westminster

3. Cultural Change, Immigration, and Integration

Rather than explaining Brexit with reference to economic factors, other scholars argue that Brexit can only be explained by cultural factors, such as immigration.

Book:

Roger Eatwell and Matthew Goodwin, National Populism, (Selections)

David Goodhart, The Road to Somewhere (Selections)

Articles and Blogs

Pippa Norris, “Generation Wars Over Brexit and beyond—how young and old are divided over social values” LSE BLOG

Francis Fuyuyama (1990), “The End of History”*

Francis Fukuyama (2018), “Against Identity Politics,” Foreign Affairs, Aug 2018*

Glyn Morgan, “Immigration, European Integration, and Liberal Political Incorporation,”*

Documentary

“The Truth About Immigration in the UK in 2014,” BBC

4. Imperial Britain, Post-Imperial Britain and Europe

Some people argue that Brexit can best be explained in terms of a nostalgic longing for empire. This thesis has been best put by the Irish write Fintan O’Toole. Many English writers consider O’Toole’s thesis to be absurd. We look at the debate sparked by hos 2018 book.

Books

Fintan O Toole, Heroic Failure: Brexit and the Politics of Pain (selections)

Articles/Blogs

Robert Saunders, The Myth of Brexit as Imperial Nostalgia

John Lloyd, Why Fintan O’Toole Has Got Britain all wrong

David Goodhart, “Looking for the Soul of England”

Bella Caledonia, Independence day Postponed

Documentaries[GM1]

The Windrush Generation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izsLi-FB5Fg

5. The Break-Up of Britain?

The Brexit vote has thrown into question the continuing viability of the Union between England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. We look at the factors holding together the Union and focus in particular on Northern Ireland’s borders both North and South and East and West.

BOOK:

Tony Connelly, Brexit and Ireland (selections)

Articles/Blog

Neil Ascherson, Brexit will finish off the Break-Up of Britain

Rhiannon Lucy Coslett, Brexit is Giving Welsh Nationalism a New Appeal

Roger Iwan Scully, “Brexit and Wales”

Tariq Modood, Multiculturalism

Tariq Modood, “Multiculturalism can foster a new kind of post-brexit englishness”

Roger Iwan Scully, “Brexit and Wales”

6. Political Parties, Parliament, and the Law

Brexit has already had major political implications for the UK party system and for the relationship between government, Parliament, and the Courts. We look at these changes and speculate about their future likely consequence.

BOOK:

Kevin O’Rourke, A Short History of Brexit (selections)

Articles and Blog

Chris Lord, The Brexit Vote has Deepened Britain’s Social Divisions

Andrew Gamble, “Taking Back Control: The Political Implications of Brexit,” Journal of European Public Policy 2019

Andrew Gamble, “The Realignment of British Politics in the Wake of Brexit,” Political Quarterly 2019

Glyn Morgan, “Is the EU a Crap 1950s Idea?” in B. Martill and U. Steiger eds. Brexit and Beyond (2018) (A discussion of Dominic Cummings Branching Histories Blog )

Richard Tuck, (2016), “The Left Case for Brexit,” Dissent Magazine, June 6

John Gray, “Brexit has Left the British Political Class Trapped in its own History”

Peter Oborne, “I was a Strong Brexiteer” Open Democracy

7. Post-Brexit Britain—Trade and Security

Once the UK has finally left the EU (if it ever does), the UK will have to create new trade and security arrangements. Some fear that the UK will become dependent on the USA. What is the likely future of the UK post Brexit? And what does Brexit mean for the future of the EU?

Articles and Blogs

Breugel, Europe in a New World Order

How the EU Works—What is the Single Market?

Faisal Islam, Why the Car Industry is Braced For a Brexit Bumpy Ride

Samuel Marc Lowe, “What Chlorinated Chicken Tells Us About Brexit”

Glyn Morgan, “Europe’s Commercial Order and the Limits of Nationalism”

Anthony Evans Pritchard, “Brexit is About the Supremacy of Parliament and Nothing Else,”

Dani Rodrik, “Brexit and the Globalization Trilemma”

Documentaries

• “Out and Proud”==Faisal Islam—seen through the lens of Sunderland