Democracy and Centers of Power in the UK

On Friday, the results of the referendum in Britain regarding Brexit came out. Despite the aftershocks of their decision to exit the EU on Europe’s economy, the people of Britain have, once again, become the top news of the world. The recent referendum in Britain is the symbol of democracy in this country because it showed that, in a liberal democracy, people have the last word and centers of power and wealth cannot impact the people’s view. This is while, in this part of the world and in the Third World countries, some believe that democracy in the West does not mean the governing system of people over people and that this historical phenomenon in the West is only a show which is directed by the leaders of political power, wealth and powerful parties. There is also this opinion that normal people play no role in determining their destiny, but Britain’s referendum indicated that in western countries democracy exists in all aspects. Although 53% of the people voted Britain to exit the EU, the people in power respected people’s votes and accepted the result of this referendum.

It seems that among the reasons which encouraged the people of Britain to vote for a Brexit was the number of immigrants from Eastern Europe and Middle East. Recently in Europe, the fear of suicide bombings, hostage-takings and terrorist attacks has grown and these issues have caused the people of Britain to express their opposition to the entrance of the citizens of other countries to Britain. Perhaps the most important reason behind the vote for a Brexit is their fear of terrorist attacks and entrance of immigrants to their country. The people of Britain believe that, in the EU, this country cannot make the necessary decisions to prevent the entrance of immigrants, because, in the EU, Britain is not the only country which makes decisions, and instead the European Parliament and other member countries make collective decisions. The EU has shown that it does not have enough power to prevent the entrance of immigrants from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. Another reason behind people’s vote in favor of the Brexit was that, due to being an EU member, many citizens of EU member states which have weaker economies could easily enter Britain and enjoy free healthcare, unemployment pay and other rights. Thus, by voting for a Brexit, Britons practically prevented possible crises which might entangle their country’s economy in the future. Furthermore, they proved to the world that it is still the people of this country who dictate their decisions to the politicians and the view of the developing countries regarding their democracy is not right. In the future, this decision may impact other countries and there is this possibility that France, who was one of the founders of the European Union, will be forced to leave the EU due to the pressure of its people. There are already talks about this issue in European media.