“Brexit” and the European Union On June 24th, 2016, The United Kingdom voted in a historic referendum which caused the countries of England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland to leave the European Union. “Brexit”, as the referendum was nicknamed, was strongly supported by England and Wales, while Scotland and Northern Ireland voted to stay within the European Union. Even in countries where the overall result was to support Brexit, the margins were small, with an overall split of only 51.9% of the 30,000,000 voters choosing to leave, and 48.1% choosing to stay (Wheeler, Hunt). The split from the European Union, although not completely in action yet, has already had effects on the global economy. The British Pound dropped to a 31-year low,
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David Cameron, the United Kingdom’s current Prime Minister, has announced that he will be stepping down from his position in October, because he was a big supporter of the United Kingdom remaining in the European Union. There’s also speculation that government programs such as retirement pensions and free health care may change or even be a thing of the past. British people will also now need visas to travel throughout the European Union, because in the EU people can move freely from country to country without a visa or other travel requirements. The big question is why would the United Kingdom want to leave the European Union? The EU has many good qualities for countries who are members: State provided medical care for citizens (even when outside your own country), free travel and movement from country to country, and a single market that allows open trade without having to pay tariffs. The European Union has many good sides to it, but the UK had its own reasons for …show more content…
Structural realism generally rule that power is the most important factor between states in international relations, and when a situation arises where a state can have as much of their own power and rules as possible, that is most likely the situation to be in. While in the European Union, Britain had many rules it had to follow that would make them a “team player” in a sense. They would put forward large amounts of their own money, and they would follow certain guidelines about human rights and governmental programs. By leaving, they take back the power to make their own laws and keep their own money. Structural realists would definitely argue that leaving the European Union was the correct decision, because they believe that joining forces with other countries only hurts a state’s own power that they could potentially have on their
David Cameron, the United Kingdom’s current Prime Minister, has announced that he will be stepping down from his position in October, because he was a big supporter of the United Kingdom remaining in the European Union. There’s also speculation that government programs such as retirement pensions and free health care may change or even be a thing of the past. British people will also now need visas to travel throughout the European Union, because in the EU people can move freely from country to country without a visa or other travel requirements. The big question is why would the United Kingdom want to leave the European Union? The EU has many good qualities for countries who are members: State provided medical care for citizens (even when outside your own country), free travel and movement from country to country, and a single market that allows open trade without having to pay tariffs. The European Union has many good sides to it, but the UK had its own reasons for …show more content…
Structural realism generally rule that power is the most important factor between states in international relations, and when a situation arises where a state can have as much of their own power and rules as possible, that is most likely the situation to be in. While in the European Union, Britain had many rules it had to follow that would make them a “team player” in a sense. They would put forward large amounts of their own money, and they would follow certain guidelines about human rights and governmental programs. By leaving, they take back the power to make their own laws and keep their own money. Structural realists would definitely argue that leaving the European Union was the correct decision, because they believe that joining forces with other countries only hurts a state’s own power that they could potentially have on their