Was the Brexit Referendum a Product of Nationalist Anxieties Over Immigration, and Have Evolving Narratives of Nationalism Continued to Shape the Perceptions of Belonging Among People in Post-Brexit Britain?

Shireen Mohindar

doi:10.36948/ijfmr.2025.v07i05.59119

Was the Brexit Referendum a Product of Nationalist Anxieties Over Immigration, and Have Evolving Narratives of Nationalism Continued to Shape the Perceptions of Belonging Among People in Post-Brexit Britain?

Author(s)	Shireen Mohindar
Country	India
Abstract	This paper examines the role of nationalism and fear of immigration in the construction of the Brexit referendum, situating the vote within broader cultural and historical patterns of British identity. While economic dissatisfaction and concerns about sovereignty were front-page during campaign rhetoric, this analysis argues that these were negotiated through nationalist narratives, with immigration expressing more abstract concerns with cultural loss, globalization, and the loss of sovereignty. Drawing on theories of ethnic and civic nationalism and Social Identity Theory, the study illustrates how nationalist rhetoric reinterpreted complex policy problems as issues of belonging and exclusion. The case studies of the "Breaking Point" poster and the "Take Back Control" campaigns illustrate how ethnic exclusion and civic sovereignty appeals converged to mobilize voters, situating immigration debates as part of a broader nationalist agenda. The contribution of this research is to redefine Brexit not as exclusively a rational economic decision but as an identity-forming moment in which nationalist discourse provided coherence to disparate grievances. By documenting how fear of immigration embodied struggles over sovereignty and "Britishness," this research reveals the political relevance of nationalism. By enlarge, it assists in making sense of the international resurgence of populist nationalism and its challenges for multicultural democracies.
Field	Sociology > Politics
Published In	Volume 7, Issue 5, September-October 2025
Published On	2025-10-30
DOI	https://doi.org/10.36948/ijfmr.2025.v07i05.59119

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Was the Brexit Referendum a Product of Nationalist Anxieties Over Immigration, and Have Evolving Narratives of Nationalism Continued to Shape the Perceptions of Belonging Among People in Post-Brexit Britain?

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