The United Kingdom decision to intervene in Iraq (2003)

The United Kingdom decision to intervene in Iraq in 2003 was the most controversial foreign policy decision for a generation. The majority of analysis, comment and inquiry on the decision has focused on Prime Minister Tony Blair, his personal motivation and his relationship with the U.S President George W. Bush. An area that has largely been ignored in assessing the 2003 intervention is the possible explanation offered by aspects of International Relations theory. The discipline of International Relations aims to further our understanding on how a state functions at the international level, the priorities of a state and how states interact with one another. This study aims to use International Relations theory to analyse the decision to intervene in Iraq in 2003, specifically the extent to which the intervention can be explained by structural influences outside the autonomy of Tony Blair and his government. This investigation will generate a range of possible explanations, some representative of a structural explanation and others demonstrating an agent-based explanation. The outcome will be a more complete assessment of the influences upon British decision-makers in 2003 and a fuller understanding of why the UK went to war in Iraq.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo