Brexit and the Future of the European Union

Abstract

The UK’s departure from the European Union (EU) will increase political and economic instability on both sides of the English Channel. It also adds economic strain on the remaining members of the bloc. This chapter investigates the causes of the departure of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland (hereafter the UK) from the European Union (EU) bloc, and the possible future of the EU. This will be done, first, by examining three trilemmas, namely, the Mundell-Fleming Trilemma, the Monetary Union Trilemma, and Rodrik’s political trilemma. The chapter will then look at the history of the UK with regard to the EU, especially with respect to the conversion of the common market to a political state and how this affects the aforementioned trilemmas. Finally, it examines economic and political possibilities of the EU after the UK leaves, by analyzing the reports and documents issued by the EU and private investment banks.