Was the Labour party’s foreign policy under Tony Blair a success Free Essays

Abstract Tony Blair’s foreign policy can be divided into two phases, the first broadly successful and the second a failure. The Labour government’sNorthern Irelandpeace settlement and the formation of Blair’s ‘humanitarian interventionist’ doctrine in Kosovo andSierra Leone, can be regarded as successful. A far less successful five years followed from 2002 as a result of the support provided for George Bush’s invasion ofIraqand for the whole ‘war on terror’ agenda. We will write a custom essay sample on Was the Labour party’s foreign policy under Tony Blair a success? or any similar topic only for you Order Now The early successes were overshadowed by the political costs associated with an unpopular war. Introduction The Labour Party’s foreign policy during the years of the Blair governments can be judged in a variety of ways, including the verdict of the media and the response of voters. Rather than seek an objective test, this essay will follow the line of Buller (2008) that political success is defined as the achievement of one’s own goals through politics. Labour trumpeted an ethical foreign policy in its early years, as elucidated by Foreign Secretary Robin Cook (1997). Security, promotion of trade and protection of the environment were the other three principles of the policy. I will show how this early vision, although difficult to fulfil within the constraints imposed by international power politics and economic self-interest, did achieve some successes. It will then show how this framework evolved into Tony Blair’s doctrine of ‘intervention’ as defined by Blair at the Chicago Economic Club (Blair, 1999). Body The ethical foreign policy was an attempt to bring New Labour’sThird Waydoctrine, evolved primarily for domestic policy, to the international arena (Wheeler and Dunne, 1998). A ‘Third Way’ foreign policy would break with both traditional realism and its opposite doctrine, idealism, by promoting human rights while at the same time recognizing that ‘terrible moral choices have sometimes to be made’ in international affairs (Hedley Ball 1983). Wheeler and Dunne (1998) raised the possibility that the pursuit of human rights could lead to action outside the accepted channels of deploying military force only with sanction of the UN security council. This issue would become paramount in the run-up to the war withIraqand lead to Cook’s resignation from the government. Early successes of this doctrine had the effect of reinforcing Blair’s conviction that he, rather than Foreign Office advisors or other members of the government, knew the right course (Daddow, 2009). Blair led the charge of NATO to take military action againstYugoslaviato prevent a humanitarian catastrophe in Kosovo. The success of this policy can be judged by the relative peace and security now seen in Kosovo and the Balkans. Blair later explained how he saw modern wars as being fought on television as much as on the ground (PBS, 2000). Blair was a successful propagandist and, as seen later in the run-up to theIraqwar, he became the public face of the new wars of intervention. In Blair’s first term, the government could justifiably claim a historic success in theNorthern Irelandpeace process, which was concluded with the Good Friday agreement of 1998. The peace deal was achieved with the support ofDublinandWashington, as well as the republican and loyalist parties to the conflict in Northern Ireland (BBC). In Europe, Labour broke with Conservative Euro-scepticism and sought greater influence forBritainwithin the EU. Bulmer (2008) describes the schizophrenia of what he calls Labour’s utilitarian supranationalism which was exposed in the two manifesto pledges on European policy: to hold a referendum on participation in the single currency; and to lead reform in the EU (Labour Party, 1997). At the Lisbon Summit in 2000 theUKhad considerable influence on the treaty document which set out to transformEuropeinto ‘the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world by 2010’ (European Council, 2000). TheUK’s voting weight in the Council of Europe was also increased to 29. Chancellor Gordon Brown’s five economic tests forBritain’s participation in the single currency dominated Labour’s relations withEuropeduring the second Blair government (2001–5). However, theIraqwar caused a split betweenBritainand its key European all ies, France andGermany, and made it much more difficult forBritainto maintain constructive relations with EU partners. Brown’s grip on the euro policy also pushed Blair further toward interventionist policies overseas where he had full control over policy. Rasmussen (2003) describes Blair using a hegemonic western metanarrative about security and peace-building and warning against letting dictators go unchallenged. While it can be argued that this idea worked successfully in the Kosovo intervention and when Blair sent British forces to fight rebels inSierra Leone, it was less successful inAfghanistan, and disastrous inIraq. InAfghanistanthere was broad international support for the war against the Taliban and Al Qaeda in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. Such a consensus was absent for the invasion ofIraq. The war aim was the removal of Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction. When the invading forces failed to find these, the occupation’s raison d’etre was changed to one of lifting the tyranny of the regime and bringing democracy toIraq. Plant (2008) argues that Blair misjudged the motivations of hisUScounterpart, seeing a liberal ally where there was really an economic realist concerned with national interest. Blair set out five tests of intervention in his Chicago speech (1999): are we sure of our case, has diplomacy been exhausted, are we in for the long term, are national interests involved, can military operations be sensibly and prudently undertaken. One can argue that these tests were not met inIraq. Blair not only faced mass public opposition to the war, he also began to lose support within his own party. This culminated in a revolt over the government’s support forIsrael’sLebanoninvasion of 2006. It was following this crisis that Blair was compelled to commit to stand down as Prime Minister, making way for Gordon Brown. Conclusion After 9/11, Blair’s confidence in his own Biblical vision of intervention of good against evil (Seldon, 2005) led to an unshakeable alliance with George W Bush. This would tie the Labour government into support for a divisive and increasingly unpopular foreign policy. By associating so closely with aUSPresident widely seen as pursuing narrow party and economic interests against world public opinion, Blair’s foreign policy became a poison chalice for the Labour government that ultimately sealed his own fate as Prime Minister and overshadowed earlier foreign policy successes. REFERENCES BBC News (1998) On This Day, 10/04/98 http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/10/newsid_2450000/2450823.stm Blair, A. (1999) ‘Doctrine of The International Community’, Speech to theChicago Economic Club, Chicago. Tony Blair (2000) War in Europe, Frontline Interviews, PBS. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/kosovo/interviews/blair.html Bull, H. (1983) ‘Justice in International Relations’, Hagey Lectures,University of Waterloo,Ontario. Buller, J. (2008) ‘New Labour and the European Union’ in Beech, M. And Lee, S. Ten Years of New Labour. (Palgrave Macmillan,UK) Bulmer, S. (2008) ‘New Labour, New European PolicyBlair, Brown and Utilitarian Supranationalism’ Oxford Journals, Parliamentary Affairs. Robin Cook Speech on Ethical Foreign Policy, The Guardian, 12/05/97 http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/1997/may/12/indonesia.ethicalforeignpolicy Daddow, O. (2009) ‘Tony’s war’Blair, Kosovo and the interventionist impulse in British foreign policy’, International Affairs. European Parliament (2000) ‘LisbonEuropean Council Presidency Conclusions’, 23-24 March 2000 http://www.europarl.europa.eu/summits/lis1_en.htm Labour Party (1997) ‘New Labour: Because Britain Deserves Better’ (Labour Party,London) Malmvig, H. (2006) State Sovereignty and Intervention: A Discourse Analysis of Interventionary and Non-Interventionary Practices in Kosovo andAlgeria. (Routledge,UK) Rasmussen, M. V. (2003) ‘The history of a lesson: Versailles, Munichand the social construction of the past’, Review of International Studies. Seldon. A. (2005) ‘Blair’ (Free Press, NY) Walmer, N. and Dunne, T. (1998) ‘Good International Citizenship: A Third Wayfor British Foreign Policy’, International Affairs How to cite Was the Labour party’s foreign policy under Tony Blair a success?, Essay examples Was the Labour party’s foreign policy under Tony Blair a success Free Essays The years of Labour Party rule under Tony Blair were characterised by an interventionist foreign policy which saw troops being deployed toKosovo,Sierra Leone,AfghanistanandIraq. An analysis of the stated aims of these interventions as well as the outcomes of them, on balance, leads one to conclude that they fail to meet a minimum standard required to be deemed successful. This essay will outline in more detail those aims and outcomes which lead the author to such a conclusion. We will write a custom essay sample on Was the Labour party’s foreign policy under Tony Blair a success? or any similar topic only for you Order Now Essay In order to adequately answer the above question there are a number of points which must first be addressed; firstly, what were the characteristics of Labour Party foreign policy under BlairSecondly, what were the aims of this foreign policyAnd finally, how does one define successMr Blair will have one definition, the media will have another and the citizens of the countries into which British troops have been sent will have another still. Such ambiguities are likely to lead to difficulties in carrying out an objective analysis. We will begin by identifying the foreign policy ideology of the Labour Party during the Blair years. Prior to becoming Prime Minister, Tony Blair was noted for his concentration on domestic affairs and was largely viewed as lacking in Foreign Policy clout (Dyson, 2009: 2-3). Upon entering office however this soon changed. Blair took the leadership role in his relationship with U.S President Clinton and demonstrated, in Kosovo andSierra Leone, the interventionist ideology which was to be the corner stone of labour Party foreign policy for the next ten years. â€Å"Those that can act, must† he argued at the Labour Party conference of 2001 (Dyson, 2009: 35). The arrival in 2000 of President Bush to the White House and particularly the attacks of September 11 2001 emboldened Blair in his interventionist ideals. So what were the aims of the various interventions? Blair’s willingness to talk in almost biblical terms has been expressly noted by many commentators; â€Å"He conceptualises the world as a struggle between good and evil in which his particular vocation is to advance the former.† (Seldon, 2005: 700). Taken at face value this was the aim of Labour Party foreign policy. In Kosovo the ethnic cleansing being carried out by Milosevic had to be stopped; in Sierra Leone civil war was tearing apart the country (Dorman, 2009): in Afghanistan the Taliban had to be removed (first for harbouring Al Qaeda and later more generally for their human rights record) and finally, in Iraq, Saddam was oppressing his people and was also a potential threat to world peace (Omaar, 2004). How successful were these interventions? The relative peace to be found in Kosovo and inSierra Leonetoday would seem to suggest that those particular forays were indeed successful. Stable governments are now in place and the widespread violence that was typical pre-intervention has come to an end (Dorman, 2009). In these instances the Labour Party and Tony Blair are seen to have acted successfully and in a manner consistent with their ideals. AfghanistanandIraqare however, not nearly so clear cut. While initially enjoying widespread support for the invasion ofAfghanistanand the hut for Osama Bin Laden, Blair soon found his troops bogged down in an insurgency against formidable opponents, while the purpose of the expedition became more obscure and any measure of success more elusive. As reported by the Guardian, the Taliban were not gotten rid of and remain to this day the dominant opposition to a democratic state (â€Å"Top Commander†, 2011); nor was Osama Bin Laden found there, it has it fact become a breathing ground for young jihadists. The huge civilian casualties are the overriding images of that war (UNAMA, 2011). For these reasons the Labour Party’s foreign policy in relation toAfghanistan, their attempt to bring peace and democracy as well to win a major battle in the â€Å"war on terror†, can only be judged a failure. ConsideringIraqand the purported aims of that invasion, i.e. removing a brutal dictator, ending the threat posed by WMDs and bringing democracy to the country, we could say that leadership of the Labour Party succeeded in the first, in the second by default and failed entirely in the last. The civilian death toll inIraq, as impossible as it is to get an exact figure, has certainly been even higher than inAfghanistan(Fischer, 2008). The failure of both the Labour Party inLondonand the Republican Party inWashingtonto advance any real post war strategy has been the fatal flaw in the Iraqi endeavour. The destruction of the infrastructure of democracy that took place during the looting and burning of government buildings inBagdad, whilst American troops looked on, is viewed by many as the most important factor which prevented a successful transition (Omaar, 2004). Therefore, the foreign policy of the Labour party under Blair must here also be judged as being unsuccessful. It would be irresponsible not to mention another point here. What if the real aims of Labour Party’s foreign policy were not quite so altruistic and not quite so obviousWhen a million people took to the streets of London in 2003 to oppose the war in Iraq (as well as the more veiled disquiet among members of his own party such as Robin Cook and Clare Short (Casey, 2009: 242)) they contended that Tony Blair was merely doing the bidding of, firstly, the oil companies who desired access to Iraq’s rich oil reserves (Wearden, 2011) and secondly the construction companies who would rebuild the country. Whether this is true or not, it is only in these terms that the Labour Party’s foreign policy under Tony Blair could be judged an unequivocal success. In conclusion, I do not believe on the whole that the foreign policy of the Labour Party under Tony Blair was successful. A careful apolitical analysis of the stated aims and achievements of their policies is enough demonstrate this. It is not clear cut however. There have been occasions such as in Kosovo andSierra Leone where the stated aims of intervention have been achieved and for which the Labour Party, Tony Blair and their collective foreign policy deserve some recognition; not enough to tip the balance however. Bibliography: Casey. T, 2009, â€Å"The Blair legacy† (Palgrave Macmillan,UK) Dorman. A, 2009, â€Å"Blair’s successful war: British Military intervention in Sierra Leone† (Ashgate Publishing,UK) Dyson.S, 2009, â€Å"The Blair Identity: Leadership and Foreign Policy†, (ManchesterUniversityPress,UK) Fischer. H, 2008, â€Å"CRS report for Congress: Iraqi Civilian Deaths Estimates†, http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/RS22537.pdf (viewed 10am 9/09/11) Omaar. R, 2004, â€Å"Revolution Day: The real story of the battle for Iraq† (Penguin,UK) Seldon. A, 2005, â€Å"Blair† (Free Press, NY) â€Å"Top commander looks ahead to talks with the Taliban†, The Guardian, 25/03/2011, http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/defence-and-security-blog/2011/mar/25/petraeus-taliban?INTCMP=SRCH. (viewed 9.30am 09/09/11) Wearden. G, â€Å"Tony Hayward in line for multimillion windfall after Iraq oil deal†, The Guardian, (7/09/11) http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/sep/07/tony-hayward-windfall-kurdistan (viewed at 12am 9/09/11) United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) 2011, â€Å"Annual Report 2010 Protection of civilians in armed conflict†, http://unama.unmissions.org/Portals/UNAMA/human%20rights/March%20PoC%20Annual%20Report%20Final.pdf (viewed at 9.00am 09/09/11) How to cite Was the Labour party’s foreign policy under Tony Blair a success?, Essay examples