Uncertainty over Brexit is wreaking havoc on the Brits. Those who want to remain in the EU are in despair; those who want to leave are angry. Most are sick of it. Britain’s collective mental health, already poor before Brexit, is worsening dramatically.
Nobody knows what happens after UK general elections on 12 December 2019: Brexit, a referendum on Irish unity, on Scottish independence, or a No-Deal exit from the EU?
In 1977, Tom Nairn in The Break up of Britain warned that during 'extreme difficulties and contradictions, the prospect of break-down or being held forever in the gateway… may lead to… nationalist dementia for a society' (p. 349). The election taking place this week will decide whether the ghosts of imperial ancestors win the day, or whether younger generations can save the UK from its divided self.
In this post on the ISS blog, Assistant Professor Helen Hintjens, provides an analysis of Brexit, the 12 December UK general election and a divided Britain.
Read the full post - Brexit tales of discontent: the revenge of Empire
Research seminar
At a Research in Progress Seminar 12 December 2019 ‘Brexitland Fairy Tales', Helen Hintjens will elaborate on some of the points in this blog.
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- Research seminar by Helen Hintjens on the issues raised in her blog post