Christopher Nichols, an associate professor of history at Oregon State University, has these thoughts about the Brexit turmoil:
"With the overwhelming defeat of the Brexit Plan, a looming no confidence vote imperils Prime Minister Theresa May and the existing embattled coalition government. This vote was largest defeat on a government plan in British democratic history. The heated debates over this vote are indicative of how flawed the Brexit concept is and how problematic the proposed Brexit Plan was and is--virtually no one on the Remain or Leave sides truly supported this plan.
"The real challenge is that this impasse is likely to get worse. There is no consensus on what should replace the current plan. And there is every reason for the EU not to further negotiate. This vote is therefore all the more likely to add turmoil not just into British politics but also those of the EU and the US.
"With an American president who continues to make nationalist claims about the necessity of border and immigration control, the benefits of the British leaving the EU, and the righteousness of the US potentially leaving NATO, the meaning of the current vote is plain: rising nationalism is causing chaos in world affairs and leaving many unsure of what possible paths forward might be. The old system is cracking. What will replace it remains to be seen."
Nichols is a frequent commentator on the historical dimensions of foreign policy and politics. He is a scholar of isolationism, internationalism, and globalization, and American politics, and is the author or editor of five books, including the forthcoming Rethinking Grand Strategy and the award-winning Promise and Peril: America at the Dawn of a Global Age.
More information about Nichols:
Nichols is available for print, radio and tv interviews. Oregon State University has on-campus tv and radio studios. He can be reached at [email protected].
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