Britain Must Confront Brexit's Strategic Failure to Regain Global Influence
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/profile/rafaelbehr. "The balance of global power is shifting fast, but Britain is stuck in the same old Brexit rut | Rafael Behr | The Guardian." May 20, 2026. www.theguardian.com
The Gist
Britain left the EU thinking it would gain more control over its destiny, but instead it weakened its ability to influence world events. As global power concentrates between the US and China, Britain needs to work with Europe to stay relevant, but politicians won't admit Brexit was a mistake.
Conclusion
Britain must honestly reckon with Brexit as a strategic error and consider returning to closer European cooperation to maintain meaningful global influence in a shifting world order
Premises
- Global power is consolidating around the US-China duopoly, with Europe only competitive as a unified bloc
- Brexit has diminished rather than enhanced Britain's capacity to influence global events
- Britain's economic problems are interconnected with global developments that require collective European response
- Current British political discourse avoids honest assessment of Brexit's costs and benefits
- The original Brexit promise of 'taking back control' actually reduced Britain's agency in world affairs
- Britain faces a choice between being a partner in European collective power or accepting subordinate status to larger powers
Assumptions
- National power in the 21st century requires participation in larger blocs or alliances
- Economic and security challenges are increasingly global and require coordinated responses
- Public opinion can be shifted through honest political leadership about Brexit's failures
- European integration represents genuine collective power rather than loss of sovereignty
- Britain's current trajectory of isolation is unsustainable in the long term