Political Discourse on Brexit and European Identity

The study of political discourse on Brexit and European identity encompasses how language, symbols and narratives have been deployed by politicians, media outlets and civil society to construct and contest notions of nationhood, sovereignty and belonging. From the formative Eurosceptic speeches of the late twentieth century through the 2016 referendum campaign and into the ongoing post-Brexit adjustment, scholars have traced evolving discursive strategies that frame the European Union alternately as a threat to British autonomy or as a partner in shared challenges. Key themes include the mobilisation of historical memory to cast Brexit as a pivotal event; the interplay of positive and negative emotions in legitimating departure from the EU; and the redefinition of British national identity in an age of global interdependence. Research also highlights the role of media narratives in amplifying or countering elite voices, illustrating how representations of parliamentary power and supranational institutions shape public perceptions. Across Europe, comparative analyses reveal contrasting constructions of a pan-European identity and underscore the wider implications of Brexit discourse for democratic legitimacy, regional integration and strategic alliances beyond the continent.

Research from Nature Portfolio

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Political Discourse on Brexit and European Identity publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in political discourse on brexit and european identity across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Euroscepticism: A critical stance towards the European Union, ranging from calls for reform to outright opposition to membership.

Discursive legitimation: The process by which actors use language and narratives to justify political decisions or institutions.

Strategic narrative: A cohesive story constructed by political agents to frame past, present and future events in support of policy objectives.

Critical Discourse Analysis: An interdisciplinary method examining how power relations and ideologies are reproduced and contested through language.

References

1. Representation of the UK Parliament’s Power in the National Media: Too Weak, or Too Strong?. Parliamentary Affairs (2024).
2. Vaccine Nationalism or ‘Brexit Dividend’? Strategies of Legitimation in the EU-UK Post-Brexit Debate on COVID-19 Vaccination Campaigns. Societies (2022).
3. The Political Force of Memory: The Making and Unmaking of Brexit as an Event. Comparative Studies in Society and History (2023).
4. Euphoric defiance: The role of positive emotions in the British Eurosceptic discourse. Journalism (2021).