David Cameron dan Brexit: Reassessment Actor-Specific Theory Satu Dekade Pasca-Referendum

This article reassessed the relevance of actor-specific theory in explaining David Cameron’s stance toward Brexit a decade after the 2016 Brexit referendum. Drawing upon the author’s previous study on David Cameron’s role in the Brexit referendum and recent scholarly debates on Brexit, this article evaluated whether the explanatory power of actor-specific theory remained valid in light of post-Brexit political developments and contemporary literature. Employing a qualitative reassessment approach, the study compared the findings of the earlier research with academic works published during the post-Brexit period. The analysis demonstrated that actor-specific theory continued to provide a useful framework for understanding Cameron’s support for the Remain campaign through the dimensions of motivation, emotion, and problem representation. However, the findings also indicated that Brexit could not be fully explained through individual-level analysis alone. Factors such as internal divisions within the Conservative Party, the rise of Euroscepticism, electoral pressures from the UK Independence Party (UKIP), and the development of Leave and Remain political identities played significant roles in shaping the referendum outcome. This article argued that while actor-specific theory remained relevant for explaining Cameron’s political preferences, its explanatory capacity was partial and required integration with structural, institutional, and identity-based approaches. The study contributed to Foreign Policy Analysis (FPA) by reassessing individual-level explanations within the context of long-term political developments following Brexit.