ISSN 234-561X

HARVARD

JOHN M. OLIN CENTER FOR LAW, ECONOMICS AND BUSINESS

BREXIT

 Jorge Rodrigues Simao

  Discussion Paper No. 3110

09/2016

 Harvard Law School

Cambridge, MA 02178

 European Law Professor;

Doctor in European Constitutional Law

Doctor in Economics & Monetary Policy

Harvard Law School;

Yale Law School

Jorge Rodrigues Simao

1. Introduction

 @2016 Jorge Rodrigues Simao

Extending the structural analysis to the level of international system, we can argue that the leave vote represents a decolonialization of the UK from Europe demanded by the disenfranchised periphery against globalization. Fired up by parts of the British media and the adversarial nature of British politics, Euroscepticism has become ‘normalised’ in public discourse to an extent that it remains largely unchallenged. It did not matter whether the migrants themselves were perceived as European, nor what the logic of the colonial power was in allegedly encouraging the resettlement: what was important was the postulated encroachment by the migrants on the status and well-being of the natives, and the fact that European integration was blamed for that.

The British vote against the EU was thus no more – but also no less – democratic than the vote in favor of Chávez, Erdoğan or Putin. The EU’s ‘normative power’ (or the ability to shape the conceptions of the ‘normal’ within the Union and beyond) [1] has indeed suffered serious consecutive blows in the course of battling the most recent economic crisis, saving Greece and the Eurozone, handling the ongoing refugee/migrant influx along with the troubles in its ‘Eastern neighbourhood’, and now Brexit – all that against the backdrop of a rather modern power Russia, only regaining its assertiveness in Europe and the world.

Say yes. Learn to say yes. Say yes to life. Learn how to say yes.

Learn to say yes, and mean it.

How long has it been since you’ve said yes to someone in your life?

Yes, I’d like to do that.

Yes, that sounds good to me.

Yes, I’ll take a chance.

How long has it been since you’ve said yes to yourself?

You Can Change The World

There are times when it’s best to say whatever and times when it’s best to say enough. Be aware of the differences in these times, and be ready to say both.

Are you being abused or merely annoyed?

Is your anger based on a legitimate hurt, or has someone just not lived up to your expectations?

Be aware that there’s a difference.

Then learn to apply the strategies, as needed, for that particular situation.

Are there any rules for knowing?

Martika - Love...Thy Will Be Done

You can clear the land, plow the field, spread the fertilizer, and plant the corn. But you cannot make it rain.

You cannot prevent an early frost.

You cannot determine exactly what will happen in your life.

The rain may or may not fall, but one thing is certain: you will get a harvest only if you planted something in the field.

It’s important to do everything in our power to ensure our success, but we also need to let the universe take its course.