Brexit

In Kyle’s notes, Brexit appears as one term in The Invention of Russia’s argument about the limits of Russian influence. Ostrovsky writes that the fact Russia tried to boost Trump does not mean it caused his victory, “just as Russia did not cause Brexit or create Marine Le Pen.” His point is that had Trump lost, Russian active measures would have been judged no more effective than the Soviet KGB’s — and that it was “the failure of liberal” elites, not Russian operations, that drove these outcomes. Brexit functions here as a parallel case to Trump’s election and Le Pen’s rise: evidence that Western political ruptures originate in domestic failures rather than foreign manipulation.

Context: Brexit refers to the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union, set in motion by the June 2016 referendum and completed in 2020. It is frequently grouped with Trump’s 2016 election as a marker of a broader populist backlash in Western democracies.

Where this appears

• The Invention of Russia — invoked as a parallel to Trump’s election, arguing liberal-elite failure (not Russian active measures) drove these outcomes.