From Brexit to the break-up of Britain?

This free course sets the experience of Brexit in the context of the UK. It first analyses Brexit as a symptom of the political, economic and social geography of the UK, focusing on its uneven development in a country increasingly dominated by London and the South East of England. It then considers how the divisions within the UK (within England as well as between England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) were reflected in the voting patterns of the 2016 referendum. Finally, the course reflects on the implications of these short-term and long-term trends for the UK’s future as a multinational state.

• Introduction
• Introduction
• Acknowledgements
• Week1Week 1 Brexit as symptom: understanding the political geography of the vote
• Introduction
• 1 Triggering the process of leaving the EU
• 2 The regional and national geographies of the referendum vote
• 3 Mapping the divisions
• 4 From patterns to complexity
• 5 Summary
• References
• Acknowledgements
• Week2Week 2 Thinking beyond the divisions: understanding what they tell us
• Introduction
• 1 From patterns to processes
• 2 How uneven development works out in practice
• 3 Devolution as a response to uneven development
• 4 Summary
• References
• Acknowledgements
• Week3Week 3 Looking out through the lens of London
• Introduction
• 1 The (peculiar) case of London
• 2 Connection and disconnection
• 3 Disunited England, divided London?
• 4 Summary
• References
• Acknowledgements
• Week4Week 4 From European Union to Disunited Kingdom?
• Introduction
• 1 Interrogating the British state
• 2 The significance of national identity
• 3 Identities in tension
• 4 Contrasts and differences
• 5 Summary
• 6 Drawing some conclusions
• 7 Quiz
• Tell us what you think
• References
• Acknowledgements