Britainā€™s vote to leave the European Union came as a shock to many in Europe and internationally and raised concerns that Britain is heading towards isolating itself not only from the rest of Europe but taking a more populist, inward-looking, and mercantilist view towards international relations. Supporters of Brexit counter by arguing that in joining the EU, the UK ā€˜shackled itself to a corpseā€™ and that leaving will allow Britain and the EU to develop a more constructive relationship while also allowing the UK to return to a foreign policy that is more global orientated as opposed to European focused. As Brexit unfolds the realities for Britainā€™s approaches to European security, conflict, and development are slowly becoming apparent. In this presentation, Dr Tim Oliver, a noted writer on Brexit and British foreign policy, will discuss why Brexit happened, where relations between the UK and the EU might now be headed, what Brexit could mean for European security, and whether concerns about Brexit and Britainā€™s isolation and decline are justified.

Dr. Tim OliverĀ is a Dahrendorf Fellow at LSE IDEAS, the LSEā€™s foreign policy think tank, and a Visiting ScholarĀ at NYU. He holds degrees from the LSE and the University of Liverpool. His research interests focus on transatlantic relations, European politics, British-European relations, British government and politics, and the UKā€™s foreign, security, and defence policies. He spent several years as a lecturer at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, and has also taught at the LSE and UCL. He has worked in the House of Lords and the European Parliament, and at the Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (Berlin) at the SAIS Center for Transatlantic Relations and the RAND Corporation (both in Washington D.C.). His work can be found at

The Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence events are co-funded by the of the European Union and by ŠÓ°ÉŌ­““ University.

Zoran Jolevski is Minister of Defense of the Republic of Macedonia. In the past, he hasĀ  served as Macedonia’s Ambassador to the United States and Mexico, and as Chief of Staff for former President Boris Trajkovski. Minister Jolevski holds a Ph.D. in International Economics from Ss. Cyril and Methodius University of Skopje.

The event will be followed by a reception. This event is free and open to the public. Registration is not required to attend.

This event is co-sponsored by the Centre for European Studies (CES) Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence, and by the and Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Macedonia. Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence events are co-funded by the of the European Union and by ŠÓ°ÉŌ­““ University.