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Britain 6/4, Foreign affairs - Coggle Diagram
Britain 6/4
Key foreign policy issues
The special relationship with the USA
Blair and New Labour had much in common with US President Bill Clinton
Both influenced by the 'third way' ideas
Clinton held personal meetings with Blair and Brown two years before they won the 1997 election sharing strategies for successful third way policies
Blair and Clinton had a strong personal relationship and they worked together closely on issues such as a Northern Ireland and Kosovo
Blair’s experience of seeing UN and EU failure in Yugoslavia and the importance of US intervention meant he was determined to keep the USA engaged in world affairs.
After 2000, Blair enjoyed a close relationship with the new President, George W. Bush. Although Bush was a Republican they both shared a similar attitude to how new threats from global terrorism should be met.
Relationship with Europe
Blair was a keen supporter of the EU
However,Brown the chancellor of the exchequer did not want Britain to join the eurozone and adapt the new euro currency
Cited tests e.g inflation that needed to be passed
Less positive:
Brown’s tests for joining the Euro were unrealistic.
The expansion of the EU meant the ‘new Europe’ was becoming more important.
The new EU constitution proved very controversial in Britain, giving greater prominence to Euroscepticism.
Progress on involvement in world affairs was very slow.
Blair failed to persuade most European countries to support the Iraq war in 2003.
More positive:
Blair’s personal prestige and relationship with other EU leaders - Merkel of Germany and Sarkozy of France.
Opting back into the Social Chapter.
Playing a leading role in EU expansion the Treaty of Nice in 2001.
Blair’s enthusiasm for the Euro.
Blair’s drive to increase EU involvement in world affairs - climate change, world trade, African aid …
Blair’s attempts to bridge gap between Europe and USA over such issues as Iraq war and Arab Israeli conflict.
Britain’s role in the world
Iraq
After the First Gulf War in 1990-1 Saddam Hussein had been ‘constrained’ by economic sanctions and ‘no fly zones’ enforced by NATO.
However, by 2002 there were fears that Iraq could cause a threat - becoming a base for Al-Qaeda and having the belief that they possessed weapons of mass destruction such as nuclear or biological weapons.
November 2002- UN enforced weapons inspection on Iraq.
By early 2003 US claimed that Iraq were not cooperating with inspectors.
The US claimed that through the UN resolution, that this was grounds for military intervention.
Other countries in the EU argued that a second resolution was needed for this.
Blair tried but failed in passing a second resolution.
Blair’s critics argued that he knew Bush intended to invade and so his attempts at a second resolution was merely to ensure EU support. His defenders argued that his attempts were genuine to ensure that the international community was onboard and not just driven by the US.
The invasion split the international community. US led the invasion supported by a ‘coalition of the willing’, including GB and Poland. Saddam Hussein was toppled in April 2003 but control of Iraq still would take until at least 2006 for stable government to be restored.
'War on terror' began after the 9/11 terrorist attack of Al-Qaeda attack on 1st September 2001
Lead to military interventions in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
The Taliban government in Afghanistan had allowed Al-Qaeda to use the country as a base so in response to 9/11, on 7th October, NATO forces, including US and Britain, attacked Afghanistan.
The aim was to overthrow the Taliban, expel Al-Qaeda and support Afghanistan’s development into a modern democratic state; this was supported by the UN.
These aims proved difficult to achieve: the leaders of the Taliban and Al-Qaeda escaped; economic and political development was slow; the new democratic system was unstable.
Foreign affairs