Realism and Brexit

Following a referendum in 2016, the citizens of the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union, but negotiations of the it are still underway. The European Union is considered to be more liberal, with its' goals being to connect it's member states to benefit the whole. Many of the policies in the EU blur the lines of sovereignty between nations, with member states having free trade, open borders, and a shared currency (Excluding the UK). This idea of sovereignty and controlling its own borders is one of the big reasons why Brexit was very popular. Brexit is a good example of defensive realism, because of how they want to break off from the liberalism of the EU, and prioritize their own self interests rather than that of the whole. Instead, they want to secure their borders, and enact their own laws without the EU being able to interfere.
If Britain does leave the EU, there will be many sovereignty issues outside of Britain itself. The borders between Northern Ireland and Gibraltar would become hard borders, which would cause heavy backlash. Along with this there is also a chance that Scotland, who voted overwhelmingly to stay in the EU, may hold an independence referendum and join the EU. The current deadline for Brexit is October 31, and if it passes we will be able to see further how Britain holds while following theories of realist power.

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