This chapter focuses on the British constitution and considers the origins and application of prerogative powers in decisions to deploy British forces to conflict and post-conflict zones. The roles of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government are outlined. The traditional dominance of the executive (in reality smaller groupings of the Cabinet in formal committees or informal arrangements) is considered, as is the role of Parliament, which appears to have increased in recent years. The current discussion as to whether this should culminate in Parliamentary approval being...

This chapter focuses on the British constitution and considers the origins and application of prerogative powers in decisions to deploy British forces to conflict and post-conflict zones. The roles of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government are outlined. The traditional dominance of the executive (in reality smaller groupings of the Cabinet in formal committees or informal arrangements) is considered, as is the role of Parliament, which appears to have increased in recent years. The current discussion as to whether this should culminate in Parliamentary approval being given before the deployment of troops is outlined at this stage, and the reasons for it returned to in later chapters, before being fully debated and concluded on in Chapter 11 The slow encroachment of the judiciary into other aspects of the royal prerogative is contrasted with the reserved domain of foreign affairs and the deployment of troops.