In a historic decision, the United Kingdom has voted to leave the European Union. The move will no doubt reorient Britain's place on the world stage, as well as impact the political establishments of both Europe and the West. Over seventeen million people voted in the country's referendum to break with the European Union, whereas approximately sixteen million voted to remain. The largely unanticipated majority vote to leave the EU highlights the strength of nationalist and anti-elite sentiments currently raging in the UK. And despite many politicians' rhetoric about a separate and sovereign Britain, it is anti-immigration sentiment most of all-not nationalism-that spurred the referendum. Prime Minister David Cameron has stated that he will step down in October, as he advocated for remaining in the EU and does not feel he is the right leader to carry out the will of the British people. In the wake of the decision-known colloquially as "Brexit"-the value of the British pound has plummeted to a thirty-year low.

Leaving the European Union means withdrawing from the largest trading zone in the world. As Keith Vaz, a Labour legislator, has stated, "This is a crushing decision; this is a terrible day for Britain and a terrible day for Europe. In 1,000 years, I would never have believed that the British people would vote for this." The split will likely lead to an economic downturn in the UK, as well as higher taxes, more austerity measures, and fewer jobs. The Euro lost value, American shares fell 3.6 percent, the Dow Jones lost 611 points, and British and European stocks dropped 3.2 and 8.6 percent respectively. "Brexit" has caused world markets to plunge as investors face a wholly new landscape of uncertainty. Multinational banks-such as JPMorgan Chase (JPM  ) and Citigroup (C  )-have threatened to move jobs from Britain to the competing financial centers of the European Union, which include Paris, Dublin, Frankfurt, and Amsterdam. As of now, businesses are nearly frozen with uncertainty over the future and there has been an immediate economic deceleration. The EU is, furthermore, in no likely mood to offer the newly separate UK a rosy trade deal, as doing so would spur separatist movements amongst other members of the bloc.

However, the reality of "Brexit" has even more far-reaching consequences. The campaign within the UK to leave the EU served for many economists as a litmus test for anti-immigration sentiment worldwide. The fact that the UK opted to leave the EU against all better economic advisement and public expectations indicates that anti-immigration sentiment is becoming a steadily more powerful force internationally. In terms of the American stock markets, this increases the apparent likelihood of Donald Trump becoming President, due to his xenophobic promises to deny entry to Muslim immigrants, deport illegal immigrants living within the country's borders, and build a wall along the US-Mexican border. His presidential campaign taps into the same emotions as the UK's campaign did with its voters in order to leave the European Union. Only time will tell whether these sentiments in the United States-and the economic uncertainty that comes with them-will come to fruition as they have in the United Kingdom.