Britain voted to leave the European Union in a national referendum in June. Sell orders flooded stock markets worldwide, potentially destabilizing the global economy and international dialogue.
The vote took place just as dregs that had heretofore lurked at the very bottom of British politics and society burst forth to the surface — ranging from resentment toward the global elite, the political and financial establishments and the EU to anger at stagnating wages and growing inequalities, as well as animosity toward immigrants and refugees.
The Brexit vote marked the advent of "the geopolitics of emotion."