Geopolitical aspects of Brexit

US state secretary John Kerry said on Tuesday (4 October) in Brussels

We need the strongest possible EU, the strongest possible UK, and a highly integrated, collaborative relationship between them

Kerry´s words are not surprising. President Obama intervened, unseccessfully, in the Brexit discussions with enthusiastic support for a Remain vote. And the American support for European integration has a long, though complex, history. Geir Lundestad, the former Director of the Norwegian Nobel Institute, presented a study of it in 1998. A book review summarizes his findings   

According to Lundestad, after a period of initial hesitation from 1945 to 1946, US officials openly supported European cooperative ventures such as the Common Market, the European Coal and Steel Community, and the European Defense Community. A shift in the United States' public position towards European integration occurred in the 1960s and early 1970s and continued under Reagan, who advocated "burden-sharing" among the NATO allies and favored increased European defense spending to counter the challenges posed to the West by the Soviet Union. George Bush, Reagan's successor, downplayed any public skepticism towards Europe and stressed Atlantic unity, papering over trade disputes for the sake of political cooperation. Finally, Lundestad addresses the public position of Bill Clinton, who consistently supported European integration, including the move towards monetary union.

To day, when the US superpower status seems to be challenged by a more multipolar political world, a disintegrated and weak Europe would be undesirable for the the US. 

The geopolitical context suggests that the US will try to influence the Brexit negotiations. An important measure may be to motivate the EU to preparatory talks with UK before Article 50 is triggered.