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British History > Topic 6: FP (1997-2007) > Flashcards

Topic 6: FP (1997-2007) Flashcards

1
Q

4

Describe Blair’s aims on FP

A
  • Make UK a leading player in Europe
  • Foster a people’s diplomacy to increase respect for Britain
  • Make Britain leading partner in achieiving international progressive goals
  • 1997, Robin Cook (FS) declared that Britain’s FP would be ethical, human rights respected and commercial interests protected
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2
Q

3

Describe Blair’s aims on Europe

A
  • Aimed for more positive relationship after toxicity under Tory administration
  • e.g. opting back into social chapter
  • Promised to place Britain at centre of EU
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3
Q

6

Describe Blair’s leadership on Europe

A
  • Self-proclaimed ‘most pro-Europe Prime Minister ever’
  • Strong relationship with French President Chirac at Saint-Malo Agreement 1998
  • Ideological ties with German President, Schroder’s social democracy
  • High personal standing permitted Britain to take leading role in enlargment negotiations and Treaty of Nice 2001
  • 2004, signed European constitution (though never ratified)
  • Successive landslide NL victories isolated eurosceptic wing
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4
Q

4

Describe limits to Blair’s leadership on Europe

A
  • Relations with Chirac and Schroeder cooled due to CAP and Iraq
  • Closest relationships were conservatives - José María Aznar
    (Spain) and Silvio Berlusconi (Italy)
  • Blair advised to distance himself from controversial Berlusconi
  • Yet demonstrated Blair’s willingness to deliver policy, rather than conforming to ideological constraints
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5
Q

5

Describe Blair’s handling of the Euro

A
  • Blair enthusiastic
  • Brown opposition
  • Missed honeymoon period to capitalise on personal popularity to join eurozone
  • Introduced Jan 1999 with no British participation
  • 2001 conservatives - ‘save the pound’
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6
Q

3

Describe Brown’s opposition to the euro

A
  • Brown’s controlling of economy allowed him to enforce strict 5 tests for membership
  • Blair hoped for entry at later date
  • Yet by 2004, popular vote would have become de facto referendum on Blair’s credibility
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7
Q

3

Describe the special relationship in relation to Europe under Blair

A
  • Blair hoped that Britain would act as Atlantic bridge
  • Reinforced suspicion of a fundamental lack of British Europeanism
  • 1998-2001 Anglo-American bombing raids on Iraq criticised by European counterparts
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8
Q

3

Describe the impact of the Iraq War on EU relations

A
  • March 2003, Chirac announced France would veto any second UN resolution to British-American proposals
  • Blair’s desire to legitimise American military policy in EU disintegrated
  • Relations only improved when Schroeder and Chirac stepped down in 2005 and 2007 respectively
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9
Q

3

Describe Britain’s global role under Blair through Europe

A
  • Blair took lead on European initiatives to climate change, world change and reform to African aid to make ‘poverty history’
  • At centre of central European global terrorism strategy following 9/11
  • Aimed to promote Israeli-Palestine and peaceful Iran relations through EU
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10
Q

3

Describe Blair’s signing of the Social Chapter

A
  • Signed Social Chapter upon Labour taking office
  • In line with Labour’s promotion of protecting socio-economic rights
  • Guaranteed rights in employment, housing, education, etc
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11
Q

5

Describe the expansion of the EU (1997-2007)

A
  • Accession negotiations for 6 former communist bloc nations during Britain’s Council Presidency in 1998
  • Blair made serious miscalculation in not taking up option of imposing restrictions on free movement access for new member state workers
  • 2007, Blair imposed temporary transitional restrictions when Romania and Bulgaria joined
  • 2007, promoted Turkish membership who had then-liberal reformist PM Erdogan
  • By 2007, had expanded to 27 members + applications from Serbia, Croatia
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12
Q

4

Describe the impact of EU enlargement (1997-2007)

A
  • Embraced by both Conservatives and Labour as enlargement reduced likelihood of federal structure
  • Broke Franco-German political domination
  • British policymakers had to decide how important Britain’s role would be in ‘New Europe’
  • UKIP rose from 2 MEP seats (1999) to 12 (2004)
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13
Q

4

Describe European Secuirty and Defence policy (1997-2007)

A
  • Saint-Malo Agreement 1998 saw Britain and France lay foundations for common security/defence policy
  • agreed to advance creation of a European military force capable to autonomous action
  • Marked initial productive relationship with Chirac
  • Britain had previously been reluctant in extending EU soveriegnty to defence for fear of resulting NATO complications
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14
Q

4

Describe Blair’s handling of CAP

A
  • During 2002 CAP negotiations, Chirac told Blair that ‘you have been very rude and I have never been spoken to like that before’
  • Blair understood that any progress on CAP reform required giving concessions on rebate
  • Dec 2005, outmanoeuvred on European Council meeting when he accepted modest rebate cut despite no formal agreement on reducing CAP
  • Unable to break German-French duopoly
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15
Q

2

Describe the positives in Britain’s position in Europe by 2007

A
  • Personal prestige was high
  • Enjoyed strong relationships with Merkel and Sarkozy and with ‘New Europe’

‘New Europe’ - new central/eastern member states

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16
Q

4

Describe the negatives in Britain’s position in Europe by 2007

A
  • Progress on African aid and climate change frustratingly slow
  • Constitutional failures
  • Biggest failure was change in British public attitude from embracement in 1997 to growing populist scepticism in 2007
  • National press continued to be hostile
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17
Q

4

Describe EU Constitutional failures under Blair

A
  • Attempted reform of EU technocracy and EU Constitution introduction stalled
  • Dutch and French rejections of proposed constitutional treaty in 2005 led to dilution in Lisbon Treaty signed in 2007
  • Saved Blair from holding planned ratification referendum
  • Almost certainly would have been lost
18
Q

6

Describe Blair’s constructive attitude towards the Special Relationship with Clinton

A
  • Ideological ties with third-way Clinton
  • Close ties between New Labour aides and Democrat advisors on how to achieve electoral success
  • Close relationship on tackling global terrorism threat
  • Robin Cook (FS) stated that the desire to be the clear No.1 ally of the US was the ‘fixed pole’ of Tony Blair’s FP
  • Blair convinced that US and NATO involvement was necessary in European affairs after failures of EU and UN diplomacy to prevent Yugoslav Wars (1991-2001)
  • Persuaded Clinton to speak at 2002 annual Labour conference
19
Q

3

Describe Blair’s strained Special Relationship with Clinton

A
  • Blair alienated by reveal of Clinton’s sexual discretions in 1998
  • Kosovo Crisis 1999 strained relations
  • Accusations British FP had become dominated by US
20
Q

5

Describe Blair’s attitude towards the Special Relationship with Bush

A
  • Al Gore, another ideological soulmate, lost in 2000
  • Believed he could tame Bush’s aggressive tendencies
  • Disagreements kept in private
  • Bush grateful for Blair support but relied more heavily on key advisors
  • Blair-Bush axis not partnership of equals - US dominated
21
Q

2

Describe the impact of 9/11

A
  • Blair declared that it would be battle between free democratic world and terrorism, not just US
  • Pledged to stand ‘shoulder to shoulder with our American friends’
22
Q

2

Describe Blair’s ‘liberal interventionism’

A
  • Sent British forces into battle 5 times in 6 years
  • April 1999 Chicago speech
23
Q

3

Describe Blair’s 1999 Chicago speech

A
  • Made speech amid ethnic cleansing of Alabanians by Slobodan Milosevic’s Serbia in Kosovan crisis
  • claimed it would be legitimate for liberal world to intervene in internal affairs of soveriegn state
  • added caveats of exhaustion of diplomatic options and a long-term commitment to rebuilding nation
24
Q

3

Describe Blair’s intervention in the Balkan Wars

A
  • Blair devoted diplomatic efforts to persuading reluctant Clinton to back military action against Serbia after attacks on Kosovo
  • 1999, prolonged NATO bombing campaign led by British forces forced Milosevic to withdraw forces from Kosovo
  • Embolden Blair’s international status and shaped later policies
25
Q

3

Describe Blair’s intervention in Sierra Leone

A
  • 2000, 200-strong British military contingent sent to Sierra Leone when rebel forces in CW threatened to capture Freetown, the capital
  • Initially sent to evacuate foreigners and British nationals
  • Yet British forces supported UN peacekeepers
  • Capital secured and CW ended in 2002
26
Q

2

Describe the background to the Afghanistan invasion

A
  • Taliban had allowed Al-Qaeda to use country as training and terrorist operation planning base
  • Preparations for NATO forces to invade Afghanistan started almost immediately after 9/11
27
Q

5

Describe the invasion fo Afghanistan

A
  • Oct 7 2001
  • Britain joined US military campaign to overthrow Taliban and expel Al-Qaeda from the country
  • Supported by both UN and NATO
  • Hoped that Afghanistan would quickly develop into further modern democratic state
  • Intended to be furtehr sign of liberal interventionism
28
Q

5

Describe the consequences of the invasion of Afghanistan

A
  • No instant pacification (war would enter stalemate and last 20 years)
  • Leaders of Taliban and Al-Qaeda escaped, including Bin Laden
  • Weak democratic regime established with limited economic and political development
  • Attention drawn towards Iraq from 2002
  • Divided focus allowed Taliban to regroup in 2006-07
29
Q

3

Describe the pretext to the invasion of Iraq

A
  • Saddam Hussein had been ‘contained’ by economic sanctions and NATO-policed ‘no-fly zones’ following First Gulf War 1990-91
  • By 2002, increasing fears over the threat Saddam posed to West
  • UN first resolution
30
Q

2

Describe Western fears of Saddam Hussein’s

A
  • Iraq might link up with Al-Qaeda and provide new base for terrorism
  • Iraq might develop WMD
31
Q

5

Describe the UN first resolution (resolution 1441) on Iraq

A
  • UN resolution in Nov 2002 forced Saddam to allow weapons inspectors back in Iraq
  • By early 2003 USA believed Saddam was not properly cooperating
  • Dispute in UN about whether first resolution granted permission to use military force in these circumstances
  • Blair made strenuous efforts to garner European support for second resolution
  • Ultimately unsuccessful
32
Q

3

Describe the invasion of Iraq

A
  • March 2003, invasion launched by ‘Coalition of the willing’: UK, US, Australia, Poland and Iraqi rebels
  • By April 2003, military victory and overthrow of Saddam completed
  • Yet Coalition forces became bogged down in war with no decisive end
33
Q

2

Describe the positives of the Iraq invasion

A
  • By 2006, Iraqi government had become more stable and democratic + improvements in security situation
  • Some argue Blair was correct in analysis that British involvement needed to ensure that US did not retreat to isolationism or unilateral action
34
Q

6

Describe opposition to the Iraq War

A
  • Left-wing criticism (e.g. that war was about securing oil supplies, not ‘liberal interventionism’)
  • Daily Mirror vocal source of opposition, releasing bloodied images of children on their front page
  • ‘Stop the War’ march through central London in Feb 2003 attracted approx 1m demonstrators (biggest demonstration in British history)
  • Four ministers, including Leader of HoC Robin Cook and Clare Short (International Development Sec), resigned over war in March 2003 - latter argued it was an illegal war without full UN backing
  • David Kelly - exagerrated WMD threat
  • British and US troops accused of unlawful torture of Iraqi prisoners e.g. waterboarding
35
Q

2

Describe the reduction of troops in Iraq

A
  • Troops in Iraq reduced from 18k in May 2003 to 5.5k in Feb 2007
  • Yet countered by need to reinforce Afghanistan effort
36
Q

3

Describe the Iraq situation by 2007

A
  • 2007 situation fell considerably short of 2003 expectations for prosperous, permanently-stable liberal democracy
  • More than 180 UK troops had died in operations
  • Britain had 13,000 troops in Afghanistan and Iraq.
37
Q

4

Describe the impact of Iraq

A
  • Rise of islamic terror - ISIS formed 2004
  • Irreparably damaged Blair’s international reputation
  • Made it more difficult for future British Governments to convince public of need for military involvement
  • Consequently struggled to use diplomatic efforts and leverage of EU to mediate Israel-Palestine conflict
38
Q

5

Describe defence spending under Blair

A
  • Rose from £21bn to £32bn between 1997 and 2007
  • Defence budget remained steady at around 2.5% of GDP (twice that of Germany) - above 2% NATO target
  • Longest growth in defence spending for more than 20 years
  • Size of armed forces at 96% of capacity
  • 2007, Renewed trident at cost of £20bn despite 95 rebel Labour MPs
39
Q

2

Describe progressive defence policy

A
  • Manufacture of landmines banned
  • No more hawk jets to be sold to Indonesia
40
Q

3

Describe scandals in defence policy

A
  • Licenses meant that spare parts for existing Indonesian hawk jets contiued to be delivered
  • Dropped fraud investigations into BAE systems deals with Saudi Arabia
  • £28bn military air traffic control deal with heavily indebted Tanzania pushed through despite extensive opposition
41
Q

3

Describe Blair’s FP in Africa

A
  • Used G8 Presidency in 2005 to forward plan for debt write-off for low-income nations
  • Plan to double aid package in Africa to $25bn annoucned in 2005
  • Deserves much credit for Libya’s 2003 decision to dismantle WMD programme by lifting Western sanctions in 2004
42
Q

6

Describe Britain’s position in the world by 2007

A
  • By 2007, clear that Britain remained major power in world affairs
  • Ongoing international relationships would continue to be debated
  • Special relationship undoubtedly strengthened
  • Britain’s position in EU remained ambivalent
  • Britain was further from eurozone in 2007 than in 1997
  • Iraq discredited liberal interventionism

British History (36 decks)

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