Public Opinion, Legitimacy and Tony Blair's War in Iraq

How was it possible for Britain to wind up fighting a war in Iraq that so many British people considered illegitimate? A new book by LSE Fellow Dr James Strong attempts to offer some answers.

Lawrence Freedman (@LawDavF) is Professor of War Studies at King’s College, London. His research ranges across contemporary strategic, defence and foreign policy issues, and his notable publications include The Official History of the Falklands Campaign and Strategy: A History. Between 2009 and 2016 he served as a member of the UK’s official Iraq Inquiry (the Chilcot Inquiry). He appears here as a scholar rather than as a representative of the Inquiry.

Juliet Kaarbo is Professor of Foreign Policy at the University of Edinburgh. Her research ranges across Foreign Policy Analysis, including constructivist and cognitive theoretical approaches, and work looking at Dutch, German, Israeli, Japanese, Turkish, UK and US foreign policy. Her notable publications include Coalition Politics and Cabinet Decision Making and (edited with Cristian Cantir) Domestic Role Contestation, Foreign Policy and International Relations.

James Strong (@dr_james_strong) is Fellow in Foreign Policy Analysis at LSE, where he received his PhD in 2012. His research interests encompass constructivist and neoclassical realist approaches to understanding foreign policy, and UK and US foreign policy in the ‘war on terror’ era. This is his first book. He has previously published articles on the ‘parliamentary prerogative’ that grants MPs the conventional right to veto major UK military deployments abroad.

Toby Dodge (@ProfTobyDodge) is Professor of International Relations and Director of the Middle East Centre at LSE. His research focuses on the role of the postcolonial state in the international system, specifically in the Middle East in general and Iraq in particular. 

The Department of International Relations (@LSEIRDept) is now in its 89th year, making it one of the oldest, and largest in the world.

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