Policy Press

Britain and Europe at a Crossroads

The Politics of Anxiety and Transformation

By Andrew Ryder

Ryder develops the conceptual framework of securitisation to make sense of the events surrounding the Brexit vote and its aftermath and examines the ways that political elites engineered a politics of fear, insecurity and Brexit nationalism in the run up to the UK’s vote to leave the European Union.

This book dissects the complex social, cultural and political factors which led the UK to take its decision to leave the EU and examines the far-reaching consequences of that decision.

Developing the conceptual framework of securitization, Ryder innovatively uses primary sources and a focus on rhetoric to examine the ways that political elites engineered a politics of fear, insecurity and Brexit nationalism before and after the Brexit vote. He situates Brexit within a wider shift in international political ideas, traces the resurgence in popularity of far-right politics and explores how Britain and Europe now face a choice between further neoliberal reform or radical democratic and social renewal.

"In a time of anxiety, change and frustration around Brexit, this book offers a salve in the form of an explanation on how we got here, through critical analysis of our political discourse." Jo Richardson, De Montfort University

Andrew Ryder is Associate Professor of Sociology at Corvinius University of Budapest.

Introduction: Paradigm shift, reflexivity and securitisation

Brexit Nationalism: History, Crisis and Identity

The Road to Brexit

Politics in Focus: The Conservatives

Politics in Focus: Labour

The Nationalists: Exclusionary and Civic

Brexit: Views from Europe

Boris Johnson: Getting Brexit done?

Antidotes to Brexit