Introduction: Studying Brexit’s causes and consequences
By Wincott, Daniel, Peterson, John, Convery, Alan
The choice made by voters in the United Kingdom on 23 June 2016 to leave the European Union (EU) caused a political earthquake in more ways than one. A profound sense of surprise or shock at the outcome of the vote was evident on all sides. Many had the sense of having woken up in a different country, one that had ‘changed utterly’ (GormleyHeenan and Aughey, 2017). The choice for Brexit also set off a series of other dramatic events. The referendum as an event triggered the Brexit processor processes. During the first few months after the referendum, that process had already been punctuated by other surprising political moments and episodes in the United Kingdom, from the resignation of David Cameron as Prime Minister, by way of subsequent rivalrous infighting among Prime Ministerial pretenders and Theresa May’s emergence unchallenged as Cameron’s heir apparent. It also extended to the collapse of power-sharing in Northern Ireland and a strong snap election showing for Sinn Fein, to calls for a second referendum on Scottish independence (the first was held in 2014), and to May’s switch from resolute determination not to cut and run electorally to her announcement on 18 April of a snap General Election for 8 June 2017. May justified this decision as necessary to give her a strong mandate to negotiate Brexit.
Brexit presents new, daunting analytical tasks to social and political scientists. This Special Issue collects articles that contribute to completing these new tasks, across a range of domestic, comparative and international dimensions. We focus on three broad areas: the path that led to the referendum; explaining and interpreting the vote for Brexit; and assessing its consequences.
