Elites' Brexit from a Civilisational Perspective

This dissertation presents a novel exploration of British politics and culture, asserting that the phenomenon of Brexit can be reassessed from a cultural-philosophical point of view, adopting the perspective of elites, and that this allows us to understand the UK as a civilisation state. After a conceptual introduction, chapters 1 and 2 undertake a literature review of the perspectives from which Brexit, and the causes and effects of the EU referendum in Britain, have been most frequently studied. They have been mainly analysed from political, economic, legal and sociological perspectives, whereas culture remains less investigated. Chapter 3 completes the literature review examining the concept of civilisation state, which provides a theoretical framework for the research. Civilisation states have recently received increasing attention due to the actions and pronouncements of the leaders of the world’s main powers, who are increasingly depicting their countries as belonging to such a category. The civilisation state is conceptually deconstructed in order to identify its component dimensions, and a broad summary definition is provided starting from how it has been described by scholars and authors. Chapter 4 is dedicated to the methodological decisions and strategies informing the research, the reasons for them, and the issues and limitations that arose when they were applied. Explanations are given concerning the choice of elites to interrogate and the reason for our choice, as well as for the combination of the three research methods employed, namely a case-study, qualitative elite interviewing, and quantitative elite questionnaires. In chapter 5, the civilisational dimensions identified in civilisation states are then sought in the British context. In addition to a long history, a common language, religion and culture, blurred borders and a peculiar geography, civilisation states have been found to substantially rely on their citizens’ self-perception and imagination, as well as on their elites’ narratives and the confrontation with another civilisational entity. By means of a case-study, in chapter 6 we compare Britain with the Russian Federation in civilisational terms, with particular attention to their relationship to the EU. Both countries are restructuring their identities as post-imperial powers, separated from Europe by a peculiar geography - insular for the UK, and a ‘revived’ geopolitical Iron Curtain for Russia. Finally, the thesis explores the elite’s cultural beliefs, values and ideas: through the analysis of elite interviews and questionnaires, chapters 7 and 8 shed light on their belief in the existence of a British civilisation, on their long-standing Euroscepticism, on their ambiguity towards a conception of Britain as a civilisation state, and on their assumption that Brexit was a manifestation of British cultural identity. The findings are then summarised and discussed in the concluding part of this work. Keywords: Brexit, civilisation states, United Kingdom, political elites, British cultural identity.