BREXIT: A LESSON FROM ANCIENT GREECE

This week we would like to call your attention to a newspaper article by Uwe Walter that was published in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on the 1^st of July. The writer points out a striking parallel between the UK’s recent decision to leave the European Union and a most spectacular series of democratic ballots carried out in Athens in the 5^th century BC.

            The morning after the UK’s referendum created the illusion of a fresh start of British politics. Just a few days later, however, things look markedly different: Whereas EU officials are urging the UK to put the Brexit into effect, British MPs now appear to prefer waiting to swift action. Perhaps, they are waiting for an opportunity to reverse their decision or to declare it irrelevant after all. Interestingly, this constellation is not without precedent in history: Uwe Walter reminds us of Thucydides’ account of the situation in Athens in 428 BC, i.e. after the first few years of the Peloponnesian War. It is an article about a rash political decision to make an example of those who are the first to leave an international union, about second thoughts and remorse on the following day, about a minority that does not give up fighting for what is deemed right by a steadily increasing number of people…

Please follow the link to read the full article.