摘要
After a long period of obsolescence,the Irish border issue has reemerged in the context of Brexit,and any solution will affect not only the UK’s national unity,but also the Northern Ireland peace process and UK-EU economic and trade relations.Back-and-forth negotiations brought about the Draft Withdrawal Agreement,which included the"backstop"arrangement for the Irish border.This agreement soon suffered strong opposition in the UK Parliament,while the EU refused to make any substantive concessions.Trapping Brexit into the"Britain-drag",the Irish border issue has become Brexit’s bottleneck.While the border issue carries sensitivity and complexity in itself,another even more important reason that is so significant is that it has become clear that the UK and the EU are not on the same track when it comes to interest defining and policy selection,never mind the tangled mentalities of Brexit.The Brexit dilemma,when combined with the Irish border issue,has cast a spotlight on the West’s political and social fragmentation,as well as the dysfunction of its parliamentary democracy.No matter how the withdrawal deal is settled in the future,the UK and the EU are likely to be persecuted by the Irish border issue for a long time to come.
作者简介
Qu Bing is an associate research professor at the Institute of European Studies,CICIR,whose research expertise covers the United Kingdom;Wang Shuo is deputy director and a research professor at the Institute of European Studies,CICIR,whose research expertise covers European integration and the European economy.
