Overview

A succinct, expert Pelican history of the most contentious issue of our time After all the debates, manoeuvrings, recriminations and exaltations, Brexit is upon us. But, as Kevin O'Rourke writes, Brexit did not emerge out of nowhere- it is the culmination of events that have been under way for decades and have historical roots stretching back well beyond that. Brexit has a history. O'Rourke, one of the leading economic historians of his generation, explains not only how British attitudes to Europe have evolved, but also how the EU's history explains why it operates as it does today - and how that history has shaped the ways in which it has responded to Brexit. Why are the economics, the politics and the history so tightly woven together? Crucially, he also explains why the question of the Irish border is not just one of customs and trade, but for the EU goes to the heart of what it is about. The way in which British, Irish and European histories continue to interact with each other will shape the future of Brexit - and of the continent. Calm and lucid, A Short History of Brexit rises above the usual fray of discussions to provide fresh perspectives and understanding of the most momentous political and economic change in Britain and the EU for decades.

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9780241398234

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Reviews

'Crisp, clear and quietly devastating' Fintan O'Toole, Guardian 'A handy primer on the events and undercurrents that led to our present discontent' Stephen Bush, Observer 'An excellent and authoritative exploration of the roads to Brexit, one that is erudite, rigorous and highly readable' Tony Connelly, Irish Times 'Unravells the long strands of history that have led to Brexit and its current complications ... he illuminates not only the Irish problem, but the entirety of Britain's strange, ambivalent relationship with the EU' Martha Gill, Times

Unravells the long strands of history that have led to Brexit and its current complications ... he illuminates not only the Irish problem, but the entirety of Britain's strange, ambivalent relationship with the EU -- Martha Gill * Times Literary Supplement * An excellent and authoritative exploration of the roads to Brexit, one that is erudite, rigorous and highly readable -- Tony Connelly * Irish Times * A handy primer on the events and undercurrents that led to our present discontent -- Stephen Bush * Observer * Crisp, clear and quietly devastating -- Fintan O'Toole * Guardian *

Crisp, clear and quietly devastating ... It might indeed be questioned whether such a project is worth doing while the outcome is so uncertain. But O'Rourke's book provides a bracing and absorbing answer. As he puts it towards the end, Brexit has already been a hugely informative, if costly, civics lesson for the people of Britain, Ireland, and the rest of Europe and he is superbly well fitted to draw out that lesson for the general reader.--Fintan O'Toole, Guardian The 2016 referendum already feels so long ago that it is hard to remember that a longer story was erased and forgotten amid the fevered claims of 350m, 80m Turks and the 'easiest' deal in history. Kevin O'Rourke painstakingly lays out the facts in A Short History of Brexit--Christopher Kissane, Financial Times A Short History of Brexit couldn't have come at a better time ... an excellent and authoritative exploration of the roads to Brexit, one that is erudite, rigorous and highly readable--Tony Connelly, Irish Times Anyone who has found themselves newly politicised by the convulsions of British politics in general or Brexit in particular will find this a handy primer on the events and undercurrents that led to our present discontent. Anyone who is familiar with that history will find something they knew, but hadn't fully appreciated.--Stephen Bush, Observer

Author Information

Kevin O'Rourke is Professor of Economics at NYU Abu Dhabi. He was previously Chichele Professor of Economic History at Oxford, and a Fellow of All Souls College. Between 2014 and 2018 he was Research Director of the Centre for Economic Policy Research, a network of 1100 researchers in universities throughout Europe. He is a member of the Royal Irish Academy and a Fellow of the British Academy. His previous books include (as co-author) Globalization and History- the evolution of a nineteenth-century Atlantic economy and Power and Plenty- Trade, War and the World Economy in the Second Millennium; and (as co-editor) The Cambridge Economic History of Modern Europe.

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