The world awakened on Friday morning to shocking news: Britain voted to leave the European Union in an historic referendum that divided the UK in half. The decision sent shock waves across the globe and caused the stock markets to plummet as people contemplated the implications of the "Brexit".
According to the BBC, the referendum, which is a vote in which everyone of voting age can take part, was held on Thursday the 23rd and resulted in 52% of British citizens voting to leave the EU and 48% voting to stay. Since the results were announced, many people (mostly Americans) turned to Google in an attempt to figure out what the EU is and why leaving it matters so much.
Coalitions between European states started forming after WWII in the hopes that trade agreements would prevent WWIII, but the European Union was not officially formed until 1993. Its purpose is to promote peace and economic stability in Europe by asking the member nations - 28 in total - to behave like states within a union, so that trans-European trade and immigration would be as easy as crossing state borders in the US. The high tariffs and taxes that usually go with trade across national borders were done away with and people became able to travel for work or school relatively easily, which strengthened the economies of all nations involved and unified Europe.
The cultural blending and economic interdependence resulting from the formation of the EU were also meant to keep nationalism, which tends to cause those pesky world wars, to a minimum. And since Europe has enjoyed a surprisingly long period of peace, most would agree that the EU was a good idea.
Fast forward to 2016, and enter Nigel Farage.
Nigel Farage is the leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP), a British right-wing populist party that wants economic independence (aka freedom from the oppressive EU), limited access to social programs for immigrants, and reduced government spending on foreign aid, welfare, cultural programs, etc.
Back in 2014, The Guardian published a warning about UKIP in which journalist Hugh Muir stated that Farage "hates the EU but cashes in" by receiving a yearly salary of 83,000 pounds from the European parliament. Muir pointed out that Farage's rhetoric attracts racist, homophobic, and Islamophobic followers, that his sensationalist tactics prevent real productive discourse from happening, and that his only goal is to promote himself to power.
Sounds a bit familiar, right?
UKIP's campaign for the Brexit vote focuses on immigration, economics, and Britain's place within Europe. The tone of the discourse from the pro-exit side savors strongly of xenophobia and nationalism as Farage argues that exiting the EU would allow Britain to better control its borders and reduce the influx of migrants from across Europe.
Yeah, sounds very familiar.
The world is terrified by UKIP's success because it proves that nationalist rhetoric is extremely powerful, especially when people are afraid and insecure about their nation's economic future. It shows that leaders like Farage and Trump, who were previously written off as jokes, can gather the power to push economic and political policies back in time toward isolation and exclusion instead of forward toward cosmopolitanism.
Trump and other far-right politicians have, of course, praised British citizens for taking back their nation, but left-leaning leaders like President Francois Hollande of France have expressed their fear that Britain's decision to exit the EU will cause a domino effect.
If many nations leave the EU, Europe may return to a pre-WWII state of competition and suspicion between nations instead of mutual understanding and community. Immigration will become much more difficult, trade will become more expensive, poor nations will get poorer, and rich nations will get richer. Saying that this referendum is the first step towards another world war is not exactly rational, but it has nonetheless been said by many scared people over the last few days.
The world will watch with bated breath as Americans are faced with a similarly divisive decision later this year. If we vote for Trump, we will be giving in to fear and regression and will be heading down a dark and uncertain path. Instead we need to realize that the unexpected CAN happen and it WILL happen if we don't get informed, get vocal, and get to the polls.
