America, Brexit and the security of Europe
The Obama administration played a surprisingly interventionist role in the UK referendum on membership of the European Union, arguing that a vote to leave would damage European security. Yet this article contends that US attitudes towards the EU as a security actor, and the part played within it by...
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| Format: | Article |
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SAGE
2017
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/43810/ |
| _version_ | 1848796773194137600 |
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| author | Rees, Wyn |
| author_facet | Rees, Wyn |
| author_sort | Rees, Wyn |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | The Obama administration played a surprisingly interventionist role in the UK referendum on membership of the European Union, arguing that a vote to leave would damage European security. Yet this article contends that US attitudes towards the EU as a security actor, and the part played within it by the UK, have been much more complex than the US has sought to portray. While it has spoken the language of partnership, it has acted as if the EU has been a problem for US policy. The UK was used as part of the mechanism for managing that problem. In doing so America contributed, albeit inadvertently, to the Brexit result. With the aid of contrasting theoretical perspectives from Realism and Institutionalism, this article explores how America’s security relationship with the UK has helped to engineer a security situation that the US wanted to avoid. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:53:18Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-43810 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:53:18Z |
| publishDate | 2017 |
| publisher | SAGE |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-438102020-05-04T19:04:10Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/43810/ America, Brexit and the security of Europe Rees, Wyn The Obama administration played a surprisingly interventionist role in the UK referendum on membership of the European Union, arguing that a vote to leave would damage European security. Yet this article contends that US attitudes towards the EU as a security actor, and the part played within it by the UK, have been much more complex than the US has sought to portray. While it has spoken the language of partnership, it has acted as if the EU has been a problem for US policy. The UK was used as part of the mechanism for managing that problem. In doing so America contributed, albeit inadvertently, to the Brexit result. With the aid of contrasting theoretical perspectives from Realism and Institutionalism, this article explores how America’s security relationship with the UK has helped to engineer a security situation that the US wanted to avoid. SAGE 2017-08-31 Article PeerReviewed Rees, Wyn (2017) America, Brexit and the security of Europe. British Journal of Politics and International Relations, 19 (3). pp. 558-572. ISSN 1467-856X Brexit European Union security special relationship United States United Kingdom http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1369148117711400 doi:10.1177/1369148117711400 doi:10.1177/1369148117711400 |
| spellingShingle | Brexit European Union security special relationship United States United Kingdom Rees, Wyn America, Brexit and the security of Europe |
| title | America, Brexit and the security of Europe |
| title_full | America, Brexit and the security of Europe |
| title_fullStr | America, Brexit and the security of Europe |
| title_full_unstemmed | America, Brexit and the security of Europe |
| title_short | America, Brexit and the security of Europe |
| title_sort | america, brexit and the security of europe |
| topic | Brexit European Union security special relationship United States United Kingdom |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/43810/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/43810/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/43810/ |