Özet:

Due to the changing nature of international relations, it is seen that the existing classical theoretical approaches are insufficient in explaining the events that have taken place in the last thirty years. In this process, new approaches such as Neo-Classical Realism and Constructivism stand out in explaining the events and the changing nature of international relations. In this context, one of the events that classical approaches cannot explain is the USA's war on terror and the occupation of Iraq after the September 11 terrorist attacks. The United States, which emerged victorious from the Cold War as the sole superpower, intervened militarily in Iraq for the first time in the First Gulf War in order to ensure the security of its ally Saudi Arabia. Later, with the UN Security Council resolutions taken under the leadership of the USA, many military and economic sanctions were applied to Iraq. In this process, the USA organized the opposition to the Baathist regime in Iraq and intervened militarily in Iraq. The United States declared war on Iraq in 2003 with unconfirmed claims and motivation provided by neoconservatives and exiled Iraqi dissidents for the invasion. Both Neo Conservatives and Iraqi dissidents in exile have influenced the US foreign and security policy towards Iraq. At this point, the role of the Neo Conservatives is of particular importance. Because the Neo Conservatives, who think that the USA does not take its responsibility as the global power of the world, have been active in the US administration after 2000. After the terrorist attacks in the USA on September 11, this group found the opportunity to impose its agenda on the foreign policy of the USA. Although the Neo Conservatives were first active in the invasion of Afghanistan, the Neo Conservatives have an important role in the invasion of Iraq and in the fact that the discourse of bringing democracy to Iraq has become the official policy of the Bush administration. In this context, this article examines the process leading to the US invasion of Iraq from a theoretical perspective. In the article, firstly, a brief theoretical framework for war and conflict as state behavior in international relations is presented according to realist, liberal and constructivist approaches. Secondly, who and what is meant by the Neo Conservatives are explained, and then the US invasion of Iraq is discussed historically and sociologically. Finally, the invasion of Iraq by the USA has been tried to be explained according to the mentioned theoretical framework.

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