Short History of Brexit

How have the intertwined histories of Britain and EU shaped Brexit? Why does the Irish border matter? How will these interactions shape Europe's future? After all the debates, manoeuvrings, recriminations and exaltations, Brexit is upon us. But, as Kevin O'Rourke writes, Brexit did not emerge out of nowhere it is the culmination of events that have been under way for decades and have historical roots stretching back well beyond that. Brexit has a history. O'Rourke, one of the leading economic historians of his generation, explains not only how British attitudes to Europe have evolved, but also how the EU's history explains why it operates as it does today and how that history has shaped the ways in which it has responded to Brexit. Why are the economics, the politics and the history so tightly woven together?