Euroscepticism, Anti-Nostalgic Nostalgia and the Past Perfect Post-Brexit Future

Abstract

While extant work on British Euroscepticism has highlighted vestiges of historical empire imaginaries in discourses opposing EU integration, the emotional dynamics of such frames remain curiously underexplored. The diluted quality of these Eurosceptic histories, with their distinctive interplay of past and future, has led some to reject their nostalgic emotional credentials altogether. This article challenges such assumptions of emotional absence through a qualitative discourse analysis of the 2016 EU referendum Vote Leave campaign's materials, and interviews with 13 former campaigners. By unpacking Vote Leave's preference for an anti-nostalgic form of empire nostalgia, central to its vision of a past perfect post-Brexit future, this analysis contributes primarily to literatures on British Euroscepticism and Brexit, revealing the counterintuitive nostalgic politics and persistent cultural appeal of ostensibly forward-looking discursive stances. The analysis also has broader relevance, particularly for advocates of an ‘emotional turn’ in EU Studies and scholars investigating escalating nationalisms beyond Britain.