Publication

In light of the April 2017 chemical attack on Khan Sheikhoun in Syria, this paper looks at whether the UK parliament should respond by introducing a pre-emptive motion to authorize military action if chemical weapons are used again in the Syrian conflict. Following an overview of the use of such weapons in Syria since 2013, the authors ultimately suggest that a pre-emptive motion would 1) allow the UK to respond quickly in the event of future attacks; and 2) act as an effective deterrent.