“Brexit” And Britain As The Foucauldian Limit-Experience Of The EU

No longer is the term “border” sufficient to name the dividing line between Britain and the EU. A border is a line which divides two territories, but it is a passable line, a form of continuity remains between the two sides, and this continuity allows the flow of migrants, for instance. With “Brexit,” we must come to abandon the idea that only a “border” separates Britain and the EU, and instead employ the word “limit” borrowed from the Foucauldian term “limit-experience,” to mean that now when the EU seeks Britain, it encounters a kind of final limit, and going to Britain or interacting with it is a “limit-experience” for the EU populace and also for migrants. 

With “Brexit,” Britain is turning towards becoming a nation with a more authoritarian and oppressive tendency. Usually borders are porous, and there tends to be some form of continuity between two sides of a border, which suggests a peace between the two territories, but it is only in authoritarian and oppressive regimes where borders are turned into limits, where borders are closed off and there is no possibility of easy passage. With a limit imposed in place of a border, Britain is effectively and emphatically saying that it is not the EU. Going forward, we can expect Britain to stubbornly act on being not-EU, by changing its laws, cultures, political system etc; in short, by obsessing over its difference from the EU to a great degree and hence exercising a high level of control into what happens within its territory.

It could also be that being the limit to EU will send Britain into obscurity, make it a kind of “alien nation” devoid of signs and markers we expect from other nations of the EU and the wider world. A nation seeking to be a “limit nation” would not look and feel similar to other more “centralized” nations; it would have very few and basic signs of being a nation at all, it would lose its defining national signs and symbols, such as popular landmarks in its capital city, and its people could lose their spirit of nationalism, becoming "Zombies" in a sense. Disagreeing with Foucault's idea that a limit can be experienced, we believe that any experience at the limit is impossible. A limit is a “zero-point,” a point which is not included in any territory, it is like the edges of a three-dimensional solid, which is not a part of anything and where theoretically nothing can exist to experience it. EU populations will find, in seeking the limit-experience of being in Britain, that it is like being in a stifling zero-point, and hence that there is nothing desirable about going to Britain because it simply does not have signs and symbols which can be experienced. Even after Britain has left the EU, ultimately it will be the EU's disappointment with Britain being at the limit which will bring about Britain's obscurity.

A true limit is a point which is far away, something too drastic and undesirable for most, something at the edge of an extensive distance, something that is almost impossible to reach, a place which is completely obscure and alien. Hence, given this possibility of becoming completely obscure, alien and undesirable, it is more likely that we will see Britain continue to have a national identity and hence not in fact turn into a zero-point to cause a true limit-experience. Being a true limit to the EU would entail a thorough destruction of Britain, a thorough dismantling of everything which has been built up in tandem with the EU nations, or a leveling of everything like in a war. Since this will likely not happen, “Brexit” may very well imply that Britain is putting up a performance, and does not intend to be a true limit. Its isolation and its differentiation will be moderate, and similarities with the EU will persist. “Brexit” will enable EU populations to experience a “lite limit-experience,” and therefore Britain may continue to be a draw as a a kind of amusing simulation of a true limit.