Systemic change en-route: the underlying causes for Brexit

This thesis aims to give an alternative understanding to the Britain’s exit (Brexit) from the European Union. Given the various reasons provided by existing literature in the study, this thesis focuses on examining the underlying causes for the affair as reflected in the primary research question: “What are the underlying causes for Brexit?”. To answer this research question, the thesis relies on a theoretical framework consisting of neorealism as a theoretical paradigm paired with the concept of bundling/unbundling territoriality to approach Brexit as a particular issue. Neorealism argues that as an international system, the EU is governed under the ordering principle of anarchy. Due to the lack of clarity in the end goal, this thesis sees the European integration project to be undergoing a systemic change. This involves a shift from the ordering principle of anarchy (like in IR) to that of hierarchy (like in a nation state) which is explained by the concept of bundling/unbundling territoriality. The main argument in this thesis is that in its progression towards the aim for an ever closer union, the EU goes through the process of bundling its own territoriality and – due to the lack of its own geographical territories – unbundling the member states’ territoriality at the same time. This thesis interprets the process as a move towards federalization. This is why, unbundling territoriality as a requirement of EU membership becomes a threatening course of action for member states’ sovereignty which also explains the resistance against Europeanisation. Brexit is a form of response to this process. This alternative understanding is then used to shed a new light to the key issues in the Brexit referendum.