British Parliament as Center for Making Foreign Policy Decisions during Syrian Crisis (2011—2015)

Abstract

The activities of the British Parliament to regulate the foreign policy of the United Kingdom towards Syria during the reign of Prime Minister D. Cameron are analyzed. The relevance of the study is due to the fact that the strengthening of the role of Parliament, which occurred during the acute phase of the Syrian crisis, significantly affects current trends in British foreign policy. The novelty of the study lies in the fact that for the first time the Syrian crisis is considered as a factor that contributed to the consistent strengthening of the role of parliament as a center for making foreign policy decisions. Attention is paid to the role of parliamentary committees in determining the UK’s policy on the Syrian track. The documents of the British Parliament are being studied in order to identify the position of parliamentarians in relation to the government course. The evolution of the British Middle East policy during the active phase of the Syrian crisis is analyzed. It is proved that Parliament had a corrective influence on the foreign policy of Great Britain, which is confirmed by the appearance during this period of significant functions, both in the House of Commons and in parliamentary committees. It is noted that the government sought to enlist the support of the parliament to ensure the legitimacy of the supply of weapons to the Syrian opposition and the conduct of a military operation in Syria.