Myths of Commonwealth Betrayal
UK–Africa Trade Before and After Brexit
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 10478343 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Peg Murray-Evans (0000-0001-7961-220X, University of York, York, UK, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2016 |
| Volume | 105 |
| Issue | 5 |
| Pages | 489-498 |
| Publication date | 2016-09-02 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Round Table (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0035-8533 • E-ISSN: 1465-4008 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/00358533.2016.1233760 |
| OpenAlex | W2530680198 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 9 |
| References cited | 13 |
This article critically interrogates claims that a British exit from the European Union (EU) (Brexit) will create opportunities for the UK to escape the EU’s apparent protectionism and cumbersome internal politics in order to pursue a more liberal and globalist trade agenda based on the Commonwealth. Taking a historical view of UK and EU trade relations with the Commonwealth in Africa, the author highlights the way in which the incorporation of the majority of Commonwealth states into the EU’s preferential trading relationships has reconfigured ties between the UK and its former colonies over time. Further, the author suggests that the EU’s recent attempts to realise a vision for an ambitious set of free trade agreements in Africa—the Economic Partnership Agreements—was disrupted not by EU protectionism or internal politics but rather by African resistance to the EU’s liberal agenda for reciprocal tariff liberalisation and regulatory harmonisation. The UK therefore faces a complex challenge if it is to disentangle its trade relations with Africa from those of the EU and to forge its own set of ambitious free trade agreements with African Commonwealth partners
Brexit · Commonwealth · Economics · European union · Foreign policy · Free trade · International trade · Liberalization · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Protectionism · Transatlantic relations · Commonwealth, Australian Politics and Federalism · Global Financial Regulation and Crises · Law · Legal Issues in South Africa
Trumping Development
Performing trade
The Impact of Brexit on EU Development Policy
A New Scramble for EurAfrica
We are all children of the commonwealth’
The dilemma of Brexit
Performing Brexit
Bound by Gravity or Living in a ‘Post Geography Trading World’? Expert Knowledge and Affective Spatial Imaginaries in the Construction of the UK’s Post-Brexit Trade Policy
European Integration and the Politics of Economic Ideas
Constructing European Union Trade Policy
Imperial Origins of European Integration and the Case of Eurafrica
Regionalism and African agency
The Commonwealth and Britain’s Turn to Europe, 1945–73
The European Community and the developing countries
Bringing Africa as a ‘Dowry to Europe
Euroscepticism and the Anglosphere
EU trade and development policy beyond the ACP
| Citations per year | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2017 - 2025 (9) |
| Highly cited | No |