FROM RHETORIC TO REALPOLITIK: THE IRAQ WAR, U.S. PSEUDO-INTERVENTIONISM, AND INTERNATIONAL LAW

Abstract

The study deconstructs the commonly accepted narratives that portrayed the United States’ intervention in Iraq as a reaction to the security threats and a mission to establish democracy and protect human rights. The research highlights the significant role of oil interests and the pressure from the Israeli lobby in the U.S. during the Iraq War. Using a realpolitik perspective, it examines several secondary sources, including official statements, surveys, research papers, and scholarly discussions, to analyse the rational interests of the U.S. By using a postmodernist approach, the process incorporates qualitative analysis, deconstructing the popular discourses of the Iraq War. The research results demonstrate an intricate interaction between economic and political goals that largely deviate from publicly declared security and humanitarian concerns. Regarding International law, the U.S. intervention with the UN opposition was justified by the Bush administration as an attempt for preemptive self-defence and humanitarian intervention. Whereas, by deconstructing such discourses from the perspective of international law and realpolitik, it is evident that it was more inclined towards U.S. strategic interests rather than the legal norms. This highlights the concept of pseudo-interventionism as a disguise, accomplishing their rational motives in Iraq. The study enhances the understanding of International relations, International law and US foreign policy, specifically in Middle Eastern geopolitics, by examining the connection between economic and political interests, legal norms and institutions, and foreign policy.