Strategic Alignment and Diplomatic Challenges: The UK Conservative Party’s Foreign Policy During the Russia-Ukraine Conflict (۲۰۲۲–۲۰۲۴)

The article, relying on the theoretical framework of the 'logical actor', analyzes the formation and implementation of the foreign policy of the British Conservative Party in the face of the Russia-Ukraine war between ۲۰۲۲ and ۲۰۲۴ and seeks to answer a fundamental question: how was this policy formulated and what conceptual and objective factors played a role in its formulation? In this analysis, the conservative state is not merely an executive institution, but a strategic actor that seeks to rationalize its actions based on interests and status in an anarchic world. Accordingly, the research hypothesis is that the Conservative Party's foreign policy reflects a combination of three main sources of legitimacy and orientation: first, safeguarding national security interests against threats posed by Russian expansionism; second, ideological commitment to a rules-based international order; and third, political will to maintain Britain's leadership position in the Western power architecture. At the same time, this policy, although a measured and proactive response, has been confronted with structural constraints in resources, intra-coalition challenges, and a gap between macro goals and real capacities. The research methodology with a mixed approach is a combination of qualitative content analysis of official documents, speeches, and media narratives, along with a quantitative evaluation of the number of military commitments and defense costs, in order to provide a multifaceted picture of the logic governing foreign policy action. The research findings demonstrate that the Conservative government's approach not only represents a geopolitical rationality in the pursuit of a balance between morality, interest, and power, but also reflects a deliberate attempt to redefine Britain's place in the Eastern European security order on the horizon after ۲۰۲۴.

Keywords:

British Conservative Party , Russia-Ukraine War , Foreign Policy , Military Support , Sanctions , Regional and International Security , Bilateral Diplomacy