Deconstructing Brexit: The Reasons, EU’s Future and Implications for Pakistan

Abstract

It would be appropriate to say that Brexit was a watershed event which had a ripple effect on international politics - whether it was right-wing, conservative voices coining terms such as ‘Frexit’, ‘Grexit’, ‘Clexit’ or its significance due to the rise of populists around the world. President Donald Trump’s surprise ascend to the White House in January 2017 was a glaring example of populism becoming the new norm in international politics. The post-Brexit discourse has been heavily focused on whether the United Kingdom (UK) would opt for a ‘Hard Brexit’ and give up full access to the single market and customs union or a ‘Soft Brexit’ with UK’s relationship with the European Union (EU) remaining as close as possible to the existing arrangements. In doing so, what has been paid little attention to are the underlying reasons of why Brexit happened, what could the future hold for UK-EU relations and how relevant is Brexit for South Asia, in particular Pakistan? This paper will attempt to make sense of Brexit by analysing the longstanding paradox in UKEU relations wherein, the UK held a privileged position as it was able to mould EU integration as per its own needs and give back relatively less in return. It will also look at the future of the EU by analysing the impact of Brexit on EU’s defence, foreign and economic policy. Lastly, the paper will look at the possible implications of Brexit on Pakistan.