Interpreting Brexit Reimagining Political Traditions

This volume examines the impact of Brexit on political traditions such as nationalism, liberalism and conservatism, cosmopolitanism and decentralization. Bringing together scholars of British  Politics, the chapters focus on the following topics: Brexit and the myth of British National identity since World War II; the evolution of discourses surrounding Brexit and the broader shifts in the character of British liberal and conservative traditions; how the phenomenon of Brexit has decentered the Labour Party’s ideational tradition; the expression of beliefs about Brexit and British foreign policy; the ‘identity effects’ of Brexit on unionism and nationalism in Northern Ireland; whether the UK require a more decentred local government at a community level in order for people to feel both represented, and able to participate.

1. Brexit and the Myth of British National Identity (Richard T. Ashcroft & Mark Bevir).- 2. Political Community and the New Parochialism: Brexit and the Reimagination of British Liberalism and Conservatism (Mark I. Vail).- 3. Brexit and the Labour Party: Europe, Cosmopolitanism and the Narrowing of Traditions (Matt Beech).- 4. The Dilemma of Brexit: Hard Choices in the Narrow Context of British Foreign Policy Traditions (Jamie Gaskarth & Nicola Langdon).- 5. Ironic Inversions and Stable Purposes: Reimagining Political Traditions in Ireland After the EU Referendum 2016 (Cathy Gormley-Heenan & Arthur Aughey).- 6. The Deep Story of Leave Voters Affective Assemblages: Implications for Political Decentralisation in the UK (Joanie Willett).

Mark Bevir is Professor of Political Science in the Department of Political Science and Center for British Studies, University of California at Berkeley, USA.