Public Opinion and Foreign Political Discourse in France and the United Kingdom During the Iraq Crisis (September 2002-March 2003)

Abstract

Numerous studies conclude that public opinion influences, even if
indirectly, the policy makers in charge of the foreign policy. This study shall
indicate this influence in France and the United Kingdom during the Iraq
crisis in the second half of 2002 and in early 2003. This study is aimed at
analyzing the foreign political argumentation used by the French and
British governments, and at answering the question of what the public
opinion on the Iraq issue was in these two countries, and whether the
policy makers could have predicted the development of the public opinion
on the Iraq issue and whether they could have adjusted their policy
according to the feelings of general public. After the theoretical
background, the study will follow in three steps. In the first section, French
and British public opinion on the foreign political issues will be
characterised in general. In the second section, proper foreign political
argumentation of the French and British elites will be analyzed. In the third
section, an analysis of the French and British public opinion on the Iraq
crisis will be made along with its evaluation. This analysis proves that the
public opinion could have constrained the foreign policy of the analysed
countries, particularly of the United Kingdom. Both French and British elites
had reasons to believe that their argumentation would convince the
general public about the legitimacy of their policy. However, while the
French government had the public support, the British cabinet did not enjoy
it despite huge efforts to win it.