Why it was not alright on the EU referendum night

Back in June 2015 I wrote a piece for E!Sharp setting out why the EU referendum, then a year away, might not go the way many in the UK or EU hoped. In this piece for E!Sharp I look back on the 15 questions I asked in June 2015. http://esharp.eu/debates/the-uk-and-europe/why-it-was-not-alright-on-the-eu-referendum-night

Brexit: A Crash Course at NYU

Please join us for a three-part course with Dr. Tim Oliver, Dahrendorf Fellow at the London School of Economics and Visiting Scholar at New York University.

Class 1: Britain and the EU -- Examines the history of the EU's development, Britain's part in it and Europe's place in British politics.
Thursday, 27 October 2016
12:30pm-2:00pm

Class 2: The Referendum Campaign, Vote and Outcome -- Examines why the referendum was called and why the British people voted to leave the EU.
Wednesday, 2 November 2016
12:00pm-1:30pm

Class 3: The Aftermath -- What will Brexit mean for Britain, the EU and others?
Tuesday, 8 November 2016
3:00pm-4:30pm

This three class course is intended as a basic introduction to Britain's exit from the EU, also known as 'Brexit'. The course will explore the background to the UK's vote by looking at the history of UK-EU relations, will explore more recent developments to explain why the vote happened, before examining what the vote tells us about the UK, the EU and Western politics more broadly, and where Britain and the EU might go next. The class is open to anybody interested in the topic and, while focused largely on political analysis, some economics, international relations and legal issues will be explored. The course assumes some knowledge of EU and UK politics, but brief explanation of both will be given where necessary. 

Dr. Tim Oliver is a Dahrendorf Fellow at the London School of Economics and an authority on Brexit and UK-EU relations, having written over a hundred journal articles, book chapters, reports, papers and comment pieces on the topic. A former Senior Lecturer at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, he has also taught at University College London and the London School of Economics, held research positions in Berlin and Washington, D.C., and worked in the European Parliament and the House of Lords. Further details of his work can be found at www.timothyoliver.com. 

This event is open to the public. Please click here to RSVP for the event. 

Please contact ir.masters@nyu.edu if you have any questions. 

For Dr. Oliver's profile please click here.


Course Structure

Class 1: Britain and the EU (Thu Oct 27: 12:30-2pm)
Questions covered: Why was the EU founded? Why did the UK join late? Has the UK been ‘an awkward partner’ or ‘a quiet European’? What have the rest of the EU felt about the UK’s role? How has the EU changed and how much of this has the UK shaped? Why has the issue of Europe been so divisive in British politics?

• Vernon Bogdanor, ‘Footfalls echoing in the memory. Britain and Europe: the historical perspective’, International Affairs, 81(4), July 2005.
• Timothy Garton-Ash, ‘Is Britain European?’ International Affairs, 77(1), January 200`.
• Julie Smith, ‘ A missed opportunity? New Labour’s European policy 1997-2005’ International Affairs, 81(4), July 2005.

Class 2: The Referendum campaign, vote and outcome (Wed Nov 2: 12-1:30pm)
Questions covered: Why was the referendum called? What did David Cameron secure in his renegotiation of the UK’s membership? How did the campaign unfold? What key issues emerged during the campaign? Why did the Leave side win? How did Britain vote? What divisions have been observed?

• Adam Hug, Renegotiation, reform and referendum: does Britain have a European Future? Foreign policy Centre, February 2014.
• Matt Goodwin and Caitlin Milazzo, Britain, the European Union and the Referendum: what drives Euroscepticism? Chatham House, Dec 2015.
• Tim Oliver, ‘To be or not to be in Europe: is that the question?’International Affairs, 91(1), Jan 2015.

Class 3: The Aftermath (Tues Nov 8: 3-4:30pm)
Questions covered: What happens now in the Brexit negotiations? What does ‘Brexit means Brexit’ actually mean? What does the vote mean for the UK politically, economically and strategically? What will it mean for the EU and ideas of European integration? What might it mean for the USA, the transatlantic relationship and wider international relations? Where does it leave ideas and theories of European integration/disintegration? How important is Brexit for Britain, the EU and the world?

• Heather Grabbe and Steffan Lehne, ‘How to build a more flexible EU after Brexit’. Carnegie Europe, Sept 2016.
• ‘Brexit: Initial Reactions’. International Affairs, 92(6), forthcoming Nov 16.
• Tim Oliver, Brexit: what happens next? LSE IDEAS, June 2016.

Other sources: Even before the referendum there was no shortage of academic and political analysis of the UK-EU relationship. The referendum gave rise to a new supply of analysis. Some of the best sources are: UK in a Changing Europe;the Centre for European Reform; Open Europe; LSE; UCL; and the House of Commons Library. You can also still visit the sites of the official leave and remaincampaigns.

Brexit is about Europe, not Britain

A piece for the UK in a Changing Europe project: http://ukandeu.ac.uk/brexit-is-about-europe-not-britain/

Brexit: Sociological Responses

Out soon with a chapter by me, 'The EU and Brexit: Processes, Perspectives and Prospects'. More details: http://www.anthempress.com/brexit-pb