Abstract

In 2011, the European sovereign-debt crisis swept across many parts of Europe. With its trend being increasingly fierce, a large number of UK citizens have expressed their demand that Great Britain should withdraw from the EU though Prime Minister David Cameron has stated that the UK will not withdraw in the near future. The European financial crisis once again cast light on the complicated relationship between Britain and the EU. Mainstay media have given numerous reports on this issue, which in turn have attracted people’s attention. In fact, the complicated relationship between Britain and the EU is not a new issue. On the contrary, it has a rather long history. Geographically speaking, the UK is part of Europe; however, the British are always reluctant to regard themselves as Europeans. Due to historical reasons, Britain always suspects Europe and shows distrust in Europe. It is more and more obvious that the UK is experiencing an isolation crisis. As to whether such crisis would be a boon or harm for Britain, scholars have different ideas.

This essay addresses an overall analysis of the reasons behind Great Britain’s isolation crisis and its impacts. Then an assumption will be made on the possibility of UK’s withdrawal from the EU.

Key words: UK, EU, European sovereign-debt crisis, isolation crisis, withdrawal from the EU


摘        要

2011年随着欧债危机席卷整个欧洲并且呈现出愈演愈烈的趋势，在英国国内，虽然首相卡梅伦表示英国不可能在近期退出欧盟，但部分英国国民要求退出欧盟的呼声却越来越高。欧债危机使英国与欧盟的关系又一次频繁地出现在各主流媒体的报道中，得到人们的广泛关注。然而，英国与欧盟之间的复杂关系并不是最近才出现的新话题，相反，这种复杂关系由来已久。尽管从地理的角度来讲，英国属于欧洲的一部分，但是英国似乎非常不愿意把自己定位于欧洲的一部分。由于历史的原因，英国总是对欧洲大陆持怀疑态度，并且也常常在各方面表现出对欧洲大陆的不信任。越来越明显的事实是英国正走在孤立危机的道路上，而这条道路究竟是通向光明还是走向黑暗，学者们也是众说纷纭。

本论文的目的在于通过全方位探讨英国孤立危机产生的原因及其影响，研究英国退出欧盟的得失，从而进一步分析英国退出欧盟的可能性。


关键词：英国，欧盟，欧债危机，孤立危机，退出欧盟