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POLI5630: Foreign Policy: Systems, States, and Leaders
Look at the figure of Blair himself, his individual leadership, his proclivities and make a judgement on how much that stuff matters compared to other relevant factors. Other factors like new labour ideology, the ‘special relationship’ between the US and the UK. What about systemic-level factors? Did they matter? What’s going on in international politics at the international level that is contributing to this decision? Whether or not system level factors are important to bring in. Going from different levels of analysis. Blairs leadership was an important part of the story.
Here are some sources that need to be included:
Tim Dunne (2012). ‘Blair’s Britain and the Road to War in Iraq.’ In: Smith, Hadfield, and Dunne (eds) Foreign Policy: Theories, Actors, Cases. Oxford: Oxford UP. 419-440. (Or: Tim Dunne [2008] Britain and the Gathering Storm over Iraq, in Smith, Hadfield and Dunne eds) *I have attached this
Caroline Kennedy-Pipe and Rhiannon Vickers (2007). ‘Blowback for Britain? Blair, Bush, and the War in Iraq.’ Review of International Studies 33 (2), 205-21
Some background recommended reading:
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/jul/06/iraq-inquiry-key-points-from-the-chilcot-report
I will also attach my lecture notes as it includes a lot of important point on biases and heuristics.
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Look at the figure of Blair himself, his individual leadership, his proclivities and make a
judgement on how much that stuff matters compared to other relevant factors. Other
factors like new labour ideology, the ‘special relationship’ between the US and the UK. What
about systemic-level factors? Did they matter? What’s going on in international politics at
the international level that is contributing to this decision? Whether or not system level
factors are important to bring in. Going from different levels of analysis. Blairs leadership
was an important part of the story.
Britain and the Iraq War: House of Commons 18 March 2003
– Government motion: The UK “should use all means necessary to ensure the
disarmament of Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction” – language here was implying
to war
– Blair statement to the House of Commons: “The outcome of this issue […] will
determine the way in which Britain and the world confront the central security threat
of the 21st century. […] It will determine the pattern of international politics for the
next generation.”
– No constitutional requirement for UK parliamentary approval necessary before the
executive can initiative military action
– Vote: 412 to 149 in favour
– It wasn’t something he needed to do logistically to take the country to war but he did
this because he was seeking legitimacy and he knew he had the vote
Britain and the Iraq War: Weapons of Mass Destruction
– Imminent threat: Saddam Hussein’s possession, or clear determination to develop,
weapons of mass destruction & supposed link to terrorist groups
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