Explaining Britain's exit from the European Union in the framework of Neorealism

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Mohammadreza Bigdeli

PhD in International Relations ,Faculty of Law ,Theology and Political Sciences ,Science and Research Unit, Islamic Azad University.

https://doi.org/10.22067/irlip.2025.88373.1538

Abstract

The British government decided to leave the European Union during a historic referendum known as Brexit after more than four decades. Therefore, the reasons for the departure of one of the most important and influential members of the European Union and the reason for the divergence in the largest and most successful example of regional convergence in history are investigated. International relations are very important. In the same way, the upcoming research to explain this emerging event seeks to answer the question, what factors caused Britain to leave the European Union? The present research, using the descriptive-analytical method and from the perspective of neo-realism, is based on the hypothesis that due to the transnational nature of the political and economic mechanism governing the European Union, Britain, due to the lack of trust resulting from the anarchy prevailing in the international system, in order to maintain its national sovereignty against interdependence and also obtaining maximum benefits in comparison of relative and absolute benefits, it left the European Union.According to the theoretical framework of the system-oriented research, Brexit is rooted in factors that are the result of mistrust resulting from the anarchic system. So that the United Kingdom, in order to maintain its national sovereignty against the interdependence resulting from the political and economic mechanism of the European Union, as well as the comparison of benefits In order to obtain maximum benefits, as a wise actor with a cost-benefit approach, he left the European Union. Based on the results obtained, Britain's exit from the European Union will increase economic growth and greater freedom of action for this country. has brought the international arena.

Keywords

Neorealism

Integration

European Union

Brexit

Britain

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