The problem of disintegration: case of Brexit

Abstract

There are constant changes in the modern development of the society, signalling that the existing orders are no longer suitable for the participants of trade and political agreements. The prospect of the UK leaving the EU took the markets and politicians by surprise. It is clear that Brexit brings economic and political consequences of disintegration not only for the United Kingdom, but also for the EU partners and for the future of European integration. The subject of our article is to find out the causes for disintegration processes in the UK. The purpose of the article is to analyse the economic and non-economic factors influencing the decision of the referendum on leaving the European Union. In order to look at the reasons for Brexit, this article collects economic and non-economic factors that influenced it. The study uses general scientific methods: analysis of the macroeconomic indicators of the UK over the years of participation in the EU, data fromthe latest scientific papers on Brexit. The results suggest that unemployment rate, lower GDP or inflation cannot be decisive when it comes to leaving the EU. In line with this view many contemporary studies show that the exit is not profitable from an economic point of view and will affect the macroeconomic indicators of the state. Moreover, there is considerable normative uncertainty about how the exit process will be carried out. This further indicates that the process is unlikely to be completed. In conclusion we say that the main reasons for Brexit are determined socially, historically and geographically and associate with the strong identification of voters primarily as citizens of the nation-state, rather than the European Union.