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From Post-national to post-European? Young Briton’s Attitudes towards EU Citizenship and Belonging after the Brexit Referendum

Citizenship
European Politics
Identity

Abstract

In this paper I will examine young people’s attitudes towards Brexit, and to explore their hopes, fears, and aspirations for the future of Britain (and for their own future in Britain). In the process, I will focus not just on young Remainers, but also shed much needed light on the young people that supported Britain leaving the EU. Preliminary analysis of the EU referendum results indicated that young people under 30 were more likely to vote Remain, and we know that young people are more likely to report having a post-national identity that incorporates a European dimension. Furthermore, we expect that this age group are more likely to be affected by many of the negative consequences that have been predicted (such as higher unemployment, and greater restrictions on mobility for study and work, to name but two). With this paper, therefore, I want to examine young Briton’s attitudes towards the results and its aftermath, their expectations and aspirations for the future, and whether their identities and sense of belonging are starting to shift away from the post-national position that we have come to expect of the younger generation. In other words, are young people becoming less European, and less tolerant of immigrants? A central aim of this paper would be to shed light on attitudes and aspirations among the young people that supported Britain leaving the EU. Although this is a minority position, this view is one that is held by a substantial minority of young people (c. 30% by some estimates). This group are not only typically characterised as being ‘left behind’ by globalisation but they also tend to be overlooked by debates which instead focus on the position that most young people have taken (i.e. to support Remain). My previous research suggests that concerns about immigration may explain their attitudes towards Brexit, EU citizenship, and sense of belonging; this will be a key issue that will be explored in this paper. These themes are examined from a qualitative perspective, drawing on 8 focus groups with young adults aged 18-30.