Brexit and British Exceptionalism

Throughout history, Europe and the rest of the world have benefited greatly from the British ² Sonderweg (i.e. the will to take a different path than the majority). Although typically not appreciated in the short term, ³ the British propulsion towards wealth-production, innovation and cultural expression have long spread worldwide and continue to do so. So-called British exceptionalism has thus far primarily had positive effects on other countries (see also Ben Wellings’ Chapter 12, which alludes to English exceptionalism, and Tilford [2017] and Triandafyllidou [2017]). No one knows whether this will be the case regarding the new and pivotal step when Britain ‘goes solo’ and ‘Brexits’ after more than four decades of EU membership. ⁴