Yuval Noah Harari: Brexit will not halt drive to 'human unification'

New book by bestselling historian argues global challenges will make nations ever more interdependent

Brexit could prove to be a mere bump on the road toward “human unification”, according to a new book by bestselling historian Yuval Noah Harari, which warns politicians against becoming distracted by the rise of nationalism in the world.

The Israeli academic, whose first book, Sapiens, became a surprise publishing sensation by charting the rise of the human species, turns his attention to current affairs for the first time with a swipe at what he argues is a short-sighted response to global challenges in countries such as the UK, US, Russia and Israel.

Related: Yuval Noah Harari: ‘Homo sapiens as we know them will disappear in a century or so’