After Brexit: A New World Order?

James Hollifield

On June 26, the Wilson Center sponsored a discussion on British citizens voting to leave the European Union by a margin of 52% to 48%.

“Brexit is a major setback for Europe and could lead to the breakup of the United Kingdom,” says James Hollifield, director of SMU’s John. G. Tower Center for Political Studies and a Wilson Center Public Policy Fellow. “It will alter the balance of power in Europe, strengthening the hand of Russia and weakening the US position.”aid 
 
It also reaffirms the potency of nativist movements across the western world, he says.
 
“The British vote to leave the EU confirms a reactive and nationalist trend in the politics of western democracies,” Hollifield says. “We already are feeling the economic consequences as markets react to the news, but the political effects may be even more severe.” 

Other Wilson Center fellows taking part in the discussion included Michael J. Geary, Global Fellow; Michelle Egan, Fellow; Jane Harman, director, president and CEO of the Wilson Center; and Kent Hughes, Public Policy Fellow.

Listen to the full discussion.