Parting ways: A research on the effects of Brexit on British nationals in the Netherlands
Keywords
Loading...
Authors
Issue Date
2021-08-24
Language
en
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
In 2016, the United Kingdom became the first country to decide to leave the EU. Brexit dominated the news in the years following. This research aims to approach Brexit by examining the perspectives of British nationals living in the Netherlands. The main question of this research is, “How have the perceptions of statuses of British citizens living in the Netherlands changed after Brexit?” Furthermore, this research consists of a literature review on the theoretical concepts of diaspora, transnationalism, borders and postcolonialism.
Seven respondents have been interviewed for this research. This research has shown that these British nationals feel welcome in Dutch society. It also has shown that there were a few problems they had encountered after Brexit, such as uncertainties about the future, impeded freedom of travel throughout Europe and frustrations when importing goods from the UK. None of the respondents claimed they were planning on returning to the UK. As a result of Brexit, an ‘emotional border’ was created between the UK and the Brits. Respondents have mentioned that they do not recognize their country anymore. The Netherlands is now their home. This resulted in an increase of status in the Netherlands, because their ‘Britishness’ had decreased.
Description
Citation
Supervisor
Faculty
Faculteit der Managementwetenschappen