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Brexit Consequences and U.S. Parallels

Jeff J Mitchell
/
Getty Images
Protestors demonstrating against the EU referendum result outside the in Trafalgar Square in London.

The historic decision by Britain to leave the European Union has left the world shocked and perplexed. Protests are widespread, a search for a new leader has begun following David Cameron's resignation, and parallels to the United States are hard to ignore. 

"The breaking up of two-party dominance in Britain is quite profound and contrasts with our ability, for better or for worse, to keep a two-party system in place," says Art Cyr, Lake Effect foreign policy contributor. 

The Brexit vote has not only drawn attention to these similiarities, it's also had a direct impact on Americans and the U.S. economy. "We have a very important trade relationship with Britain and with Europe. If protectionism grows, it's our most important political ally and also our most important economic partner," he says. "That will have serious consequences."

Arthur I. Cyr is Director of the Clausen Center for World Business and Clausen Distinguished Professor at Carthage College in Kenosha. Previously he was President of the Chicago World Trade Center, the Vice President of the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations, a faculty member and executive at UCLA, and an executive at the Ford Foundation. His publications include the book After the Cold War - American Foreign Policy, Europe and Asia (Macmillan and NYU Press).