Overview
Why did Britain go to war in Iraq in 2003? Existing accounts stress dodgy dossiers, intelligence failures, and the flaws of individual leaders. Deploying the large number of primary documents now available, this book puts ideas at the centre of the story. As the book argues, Britain's war in Iraq was caused by bad ideas that were dogmatically held and widely accepted. Three ideas in particular formed the war's intellectual foundations: the notion of the undeterrable, fanatical rogue state; the vision that the West's path to security is to break and remake states; and the conceit that by paying the 'blood price', Britain could secure influence in Washington DC. These issues matter, because although the Iraq War happened fifteen years ago, it is still with us. As well as its severe consequences for regional and international security, the ideas that powered the war persist in Western security debate. If all wars are fought twice, first on the battlefield and the second time in memory, this book enters the battle over what Iraq means now, and what we should learn.
Full Product Details
Author: Patrick Porter (Professor of International Security and Strategy, Professor of International Security and Strategy, University of Birmingham)
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Dimensions:
Width: 16.40cm
, Height: 2.10cm
, Length: 24.10cm
Weight: 0.534kg
ISBN: 9780198807964
ISBN 10: 0198807961
Pages: 256
Publication Date: 08 November 2018
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Professional & Vocational
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Manufactured on demand
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.
Reviews
In the welter of critiques of Tony Blair's leading the UK into the war in Iraq, Patrick Porter's stands out for its honesty, deep research, and conclusion that bad ideas, sincerely and widely held, bear primary responsibility. The beliefs that regime change was a moral imperative and required for world security and also that a better government could be readily established produced a combination of fear and confidence that proved lethal. - Robert Jervis, Author of How Statesmen Think
In the welter of critiques of Tony Blairs leading the UK into the war in Iraq, Patrick Porters stands out for its honesty, deep research, and conclusion that bad ideas, sincerely and widely held, bear primary responsibility. The beliefs that regime change was a moral imperative and required for world security and also that a better government could be readily established produced a combination of fear and confidence that proved lethal. * Robert Jervis, Author of How Statesmen Think *
"""In the welter of critiques of Tony Blair's leading the UK into the war in Iraq, Patrick Porter's stands out for its honesty, deep research, and conclusion that bad ideas, sincerely and widely held, bear primary responsibility. The beliefs that regime change was a moral imperative and required for world security and also that a better government could be readily established produced a combination of fear and confidence that proved lethal."" - Robert Jervis, Author of How Statesmen Think"
Author Information
Patrick Porter is Professor International Security and Strategy at the University of Birmingham. He is Senior Associate Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI). His main research interests are U.S. and British grand strategy, the interaction of power and ideas in international relations, and diplomatic and military history. He has published in International Security, War in History and The Journal of Strategic Studies. He grew up in Melbourne, Australia, before completing his doctorate at the University of Oxford. He enjoys ancient history, cricket and cigars.
