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Brexit and the Balance of Power
Britain joined what became the European Union in 1973. This
year, on June 23, it wi hod a
re!erendum on whether to ea"e. #houd it$
%urrent pos show a cosey di"ided eectorate. &rime 'inister
(a"id %ameron caims
that the concessions he has won !rom Britain)s EU partners shoud
ay to rest popuar
concerns about a oss o! so"erei*nty to Brusses and an in!u+ o!
!orei*n worers !rom
Eastern Europe. But %ameron)s %onser"ati"e &arty and his own
cabinet are deepy di"ided,
whie -ondon)s popuist mayor, Boris Johnson, has joined the
supporters o! British e+it.The uestion o! thecosts and bene!its o!
British membershipin the EU di"ides the
British press as we. 'any mass/circuation pubications support
0Bre+it, whereas the
!inancia press supports continued membership. TheEconomist, !or
e+ampe, points out that
some 4 o! British e+ports *o to other EU countries, and that the
atmosphere !or ne*otiatin*
a post/Bre+it trade dea woud iey be !rosty.
'oreo"er, the EU has made cear to non/members such as 5orway and
#wit6erand
that they can ha"e !u access to the sin*e maret ony i! they
accept most o! its rues,
incudin* the !ree mo"ement o! peope, and contribute to the EU
bud*et. n other words, a
Britain outside the Union woud *ain itte in terms o!
0so"erei*nty8 on the contrary, it woud
ose its "ote and in!uence o"er the terms o! its participation in
the sin*e maret. 'eanwhie,
ri"a !inancia centers such as &aris and ran!urt woud sei6e
the chance to estabish rues
that woud hep them win bac business !rom -ondon.
:nother compication is poitica; the rise o! nationaism in
#cotand and the e!!ect o!
Bre+it on the sur"i"a o! the United
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:t the same time, in thewordso! (ou*as :e+ander, the !ormer
-abour shadow
!orei*n secretary, 0since the end o! >ord >ar , :merica
has been the system operator o!
internationa order buit on a stron*, stabe Transatantic :iance
supported by the twin piars
o! 5:TA and the EU. ! Britain ea"es the EU, :merica)s cosest ay
woud bemar*inai6ed.and the whoe European project at ris o!
unra"ein* at precisey the time new
economic and security threats con!ront the >est. t is no
wonder that Cadimir &utin)s
