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The English School is one of the main traditions of thought in International Relations and the only one home-grown in Britain. While initially unconcerned with questions of integration, and the regional level more generally, its concepts and insights have recently been applied to the European integration process. However, an English School analysis of the consequences of Brexit has yet to be conducted. This article rectifies this omission and offers a broad system-level analysis of major-state withdrawal from deep multilateral arrangements. Following a brief introduction to the main phases of English School development, the article analyses the consequences of Brexit in terms of three central areas: the pluralist-solidarist debate; primary institutions; and great power status. It finds that while the adjustment costs of Brexit will be considerable, the longer-term systemic consequences are unlikely to be far-reaching. The main consequence is the additional pressure Brexit puts on Britain's precarious great power status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A British withdrawal from the European Union (EU) would change Britain, the EU, the politics and security of Europe and the place of all three in the international system. To explore these possible changes, this article draws on a series of commissioned analyses that look at the views of Brexit in other EU member states and select third countries outside the EU. Specifically, it examines and maps out the prevailing ideas of what the aforementioned changes could entail. It argues that ideas connected to European unity and integration will define how a Brexit is managed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The idea of holding an in/out referendum on Britain's membership of the European Union has increasingly become a norm of British politics, an act seen as a necessary step for the country to answer what David Cameron described as the 'European question in British politics'. A referendum, it is hoped, will cleanse British politics of a poisonous debate about Europe and democratically sanction a new stable UK-EU relationship, whether the UK stays in or leaves. Such hopes expect more of a referendum than it can provide. The European question is a multifaceted one and whatever the result of a referendum it is unlikely to address underlying questions that will continue to cause problems for UK-EU relations and Britain's European debate. A referendum can be a step forward in better managing the relationship and debate, but it is only that: a single step, after which further steps will be needed. Coming to terms with the European question and bringing stability to Britain's relations with the EU-whether in or outside the EU-will require comprehensive, longer-term changes which a referendum can help trigger but in no way guarantee. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]