British Parliament as Center for Making Foreign Policy Decisions during Syrian Crisis (2011—2015)
https://doi.org/10.24224/2227-1295-2023-12-2-363-384
Abstract
The activities of the British Parliament to regulate the foreign policy of the United Kingdom towards Syria during the reign of Prime Minister D. Cameron are analyzed. The relevance of the study is due to the fact that the strengthening of the role of Parliament, which occurred during the acute phase of the Syrian crisis, significantly affects current trends in British foreign policy. The novelty of the study lies in the fact that for the first time the Syrian crisis is considered as a factor that contributed to the consistent strengthening of the role of parliament as a center for making foreign policy decisions. Attention is paid to the role of parliamentary committees in determining the UK’s policy on the Syrian track. The documents of the British Parliament are being studied in order to identify the position of parliamentarians in relation to the government course. The evolution of the British Middle East policy during the active phase of the Syrian crisis is analyzed. It is proved that Parliament had a corrective influence on the foreign policy of Great Britain, which is confirmed by the appearance during this period of significant functions, both in the House of Commons and in parliamentary committees. It is noted that the government sought to enlist the support of the parliament to ensure the legitimacy of the supply of weapons to the Syrian opposition and the conduct of a military operation in Syria.
About the Authors
A. A. Kornilov
National Research Lobachevsky State University of Nizhny Novgorod
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Alexander A. Kornilov - Doctor of History, Professor, Head of the Department of Foreign Regional Studies and Local History
Nizhny Novgorod
N. S. Lobanova
National Research Lobachevsky State University of Nizhny Novgorod
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Natalia S. Lobanova – Senior Lecturer, Department of Foreign Languages and Cultural Linguistics
Nizhny Novgorod
A. I. Egorov
Nizhny Novgorod State Technical University named after R. E. Alekseev
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Alexander I. Egorov – Doctor of History, Associate Professor Head of the Department “Economics and Humanitarian Disciplines”
Nizhny Novgorod
References
1. Aksenenok, A. (2019). The Syrian crisis: thorny movement from war to peace. Russia in Global politics. August 27. Available at: https://globalaffairs.ru/articles/sirijskij-krizisternistoe-dvizhenie-ot-vojny-k-miru / (accessed 21.10.2022). (In Russ.).
2. Dicey, A. V. (1982). Introduction to the Study of the Law of the Constitution. Indianapolis: Liberty/Classics. 435 p.
3. Dolgov, B. (2016). The Syrian crisis and radical Islamism. Russia and the Muslim world: Scientific Information Bulletin / RAS. INION. The center of scientific-inform. research. global and regional problems, 7 (289): 81—107. (In Russ.).
4. Evans, G. (2011). Interview: The R2P Balance Sheet After Libya. The Responsibility to Protect: Challenges & Opportunities in Light of the Libyan Intervention / e-International Relations. 34—42. Available at: https://www.e-ir.info/publication/the-r2p- challenges-and-opportunities-in-light-of-the-libyan-intervention/#comment-37850 (accessed 1.11.2022).
5. Godovanyuk, K. A. (2012). The mechanism of making foreign policy decisions of Great Britain. Obozrevatel, 2: 81—91. (In Russ.).
6. Joseph, R. (2011). The War Prerogative: History, Reform and Constitutional Design. PhD thesis. Oxford University, UK. 222 p.
7. Joshi, Sh. (2015). Sound Strategy or Dodgy Dossier? Cameron’s Case for Syria Strikes. RUSI. 26 November. Available at: https://rusi.org/explore-our-research/publications/commentary/sound-strategy-or-dodgy-dossier-camerons-case-syria-strikes (accessed 3.11.2022).
8. Khattab, L. (2017). Re-imagining the ‘State’ in Syria During the First Year of the Uprising (2011—2012). In: The Arab Spring, Civil Society, and Innovative Activism. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. 157—185. DOI: 10.1057/978-1-137-57177-9_8.
9. Kornilov, A. A., Lobanova, N. S., Zhernovaya, O. R. (2022). Discussion of Palestinian-Israeli Conflict in British Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee (2014). Nauchnyj dialog, 11 (2): 437—462. DOI: 10.24224/2227-1295-2022-11-2-437-462. (In Russ.).
10. Kornilov, A. A., Lobanova, N. S. (2021). 2013 Political Discussions in Foreign Affairs Committee of British Parliament on Iranian Nuclear Issue. Nauchnyj dialog, 5: 384— 398. DOI: 10.24224/2227-1295-2021-5-384-398. (In Russ.).
11. Kovalev, I. G. (2018). “To strike beyond the possibilities”: Great Britain in the armed conflicts of the XXI century. Actual problems of Europe, 2: 81—102. (In Russ.).
12. Kulkova, O. S. (2014). British policy towards Libya, Mali and Syria. In: Britain’s dilemmas. Search for ways of development. Moscow: The Whole World. 421—450. ISBN 9785-7777-0566-2. (In Russ.).
13. Lawson, F. (2014). Syria’s mutating civil war and its impact on Turkey, Iraq and Iran. International Affairs, 90 (6): 1351—1365. DOI: 10.1111/1468-2346.12173.
14. Levner, D. M. (2013). The situation of Syrian Christians in the conditions of civil war. Institute of the Middle East. May 29. Available at: http://www.iimes.ru/?p=17561 (accessed 23.10.2022). (In Russ.).
15. Nabieva, R. A. K. (2017). The Syrian question in the British Parliament. In: Tauride Readings 2016. Actual problems of parliamentarism: history and modernity: collection of scientific articles, III. St. Petersburg: Elexis. 64—70. ISBN 978-5-9909911-5-6. (In Russ.).
16. Paust, J. (2013). Use of military force in Syria by Turkey, NATO and the United States. University of Pennsylvania Journal of International Law, 34 (2): 431—466.
17. Sayigh, Y. (2012). The Coming Tests of the Syrian Opposition. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. 19 April. Available at: https://carnegieendowment.org/2012/04/19/ coming-tests-of-syrian-opposition/acqs (accessed 4.11.2022).
18. Strong, J. (2015a). Interpreting the Syria vote: parliament and British foreign policy. International Affairs, 91 (5): 1123—1139. DOI: 10.1111/1468-2346.12401.
19. Strong, J. (2015b). Why Parliament Now Decides on War: Tracing the Growth of the Parliamentary Prerogative through Syria, Libya and Iraq. The British Journal of Politics and International Relations, 17 (4): 604—622. DOI: 10.1111/1467-856X.12055.
20. Thakur, R. (2016). The Responsibility to Protect at 15. International Affairs, 92 (2): 415—434. DOI: 10.1111/1468-2346.12557.
Review
For citations:
Kornilov A.A., Lobanova N.S., Egorov A.I. British Parliament as Center for Making Foreign Policy Decisions during Syrian Crisis (2011—2015). Nauchnyi dialog. 2023;12(2):363-384. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.24224/2227-1295-2023-12-2-363-384
Views:
361
Email this article 