Abstract
One of the most important developments of the post-war era, was the use of military force for human protection. The post-Cold War era made profound implications for international relations. Issues related to intervention have attained more prominence on the world stage particularly after the disintegration of USSR. In this context, security took new dimensions as security was not limited to military and state survival. Rather, it touches on human security from social and economic wellbeing to personal dignity and human rights. This thesis has been contextualised within the United Kingdom's recent interventions in some African countries directly or indirectly for example Sierra Leone in 2000-2001 and the Gambia 2016-2019. This thesis interrogates why the UK has intervened in those countries? What were the factors and nature of such interventions? The main contribution of this research is the need for engagement with domestic and geopolitical factors that may impact intervention. The internal domestic dynamics are an important variable during intervention regarding political, economic, security and ethnic composition, particularly in the African context. These internal, regional, and international dimensions are important to understand the dynamics. The methodology of the research has been qualitative by applying a comparative approach to the two empirical cases, in order to understand and analyse the driving factors for the recent British interventions in Africa, by highlighting relevant UN Security Council Resolutions and the AU statements on the cases and their justification., in addition to the analysis of some relevant policy statements by British Government on those interventions, as well as the discussions that followed in the Parliament.The main contribution is in both the theoretical approach and the empirical cases. Theoretically, I have employed the constructivist cosmopolitan approach to analyse British foreign policy towards the empirical cases. In terms of the cases, I have focused on the causes of the British interventions, to capture the similarities but also the differences between the cases. The thesis has also examined the interface between statism and the responsibility of states to protect its citizens against violations. This emphasises the triangular nature of the competing claims of legality, politics, and morality.
| Date of Award | 2024 |
|---|---|
| Original language | English |
| Supervisor | Christian Kaunert (Supervisor) & Joana Lopes De Deus Pereira (Supervisor) |