Date: 2021
Type: Working Paper
Taking back control? : Brexit and the territorial constitution of the United Kingdom
Working Paper, EUI RSC, 2021/28, Integrating Diversity in the European Union (InDivEU)
KEATING, Michael, Taking back control? : Brexit and the territorial constitution of the United Kingdom, EUI RSC, 2021/28, Integrating Diversity in the European Union (InDivEU) - https://hdl.handle.net/1814/70296
Retrieved from Cadmus, EUI Research Repository
Brexit aimed to restore sovereignty to the United Kingdom. That rested on an interpretation of the UK as an internally integrated and externally bordered sovereign state. Another interpretation is that the UK is a plurinational union, in which the issue of sovereignty is contested. Devolution in 1999 left this issue in abeyance, while membership of the EU provided an external support system. Brexit removed this external support and resulting territorial tensions are exacerbated by the fact that majorities in Scotland and Northern Ireland opposed it. There have been three responses: to reconstitute the United Kingdom as a unitary state; to fragment it into its constituent parts; and to seek a differentiated Brexit. Only Northern Ireland has been granted such an exception, at the insistence of another member state.
Cadmus permanent link: https://hdl.handle.net/1814/70296
ISSN: 1028-3625
Series/Number: EUI RSC; 2021/28; Integrating Diversity in the European Union (InDivEU)
Publisher: European University Institute
Keyword(s): Brexit United Kingdom Scotland Northern Ireland Devolution
Grant number: H2020/822304/EU
Sponsorship and Funder information:
This Paper is part of the InDivEU project which has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement number 822304.
The content of this document represents only the views of the InDivEU consortium and is its sole responsibility. The European Commission does not accept any responsibility for use that may be made of the information it contains.