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An EU Inspired Cloud of Multilateral Antipathy? The British Public and Foreign Policy Attitudes on the Eve of Brexit?

Foreign Policy
Electoral Behaviour
Public Opinion
European Union
Thomas Scotto
University of Strathclyde
Jason Reifler
University of Exeter
Thomas Scotto
University of Strathclyde

Abstract

In the aftermath of World War Two, Winston Churchill spoke of Britain’s international engagement in terms of three co-existent, neatly linked circles: ``the [Empire and] Commonwealth’’; ``the English speaking world”; and “United Europe.” Public opinion on Britain’s role in the world, if it was respected or paid attention to by elites, likely was assumed to fall along an “all or nothing” isolationist-interventionist axis. Following the breakup of the Empire and the passage of the European Communities Act of 1972, these interlocked circles appeared to morph into separate spheres. Attention paid to each varied, with interest in the European Union project and the “special relationship” Britain had with the United States frequently overshadowing engagement with the Commonwealth. Aside from periods of UK involvement in US led military action, questions of European Integration became the focus of the bulk of day-to-day attention by media and political elites. In this Paper, we ask how the politics and debate over Britain’s membership in the European Union shaped wider aspects of the British public’s beliefs concerning multilateral engagement. Did contentiousness over Europe cloud the atmosphere so much that “leavers” also were those wanting less engagement with non-governmental organisations, American allies, and developing nations? Or, did Euroskeptics want to unshackle themselves from the Continent to be freed to engage more with the rest of the world? This paper/chapter will be an attempt to explore further British attitudes towards multilateralism.