The phrase "serve as a pretext" is a correct and usable phrase in written English.
You can use it when describing a false justification, or excuse, used to hide the true aim of an action. For example, "He used the excuse of needing to buy groceries as a pretext to go to the store and buy new clothes."
"The next elections must not serve as a pretext for putting in doubt how indispensable these measures are," he said.
The accident should not serve as a pretext for those who seek to speculate on fear and irrational sentiment.
By causing fear and uncertainty, the blasts would serve as a pretext for personnel changes and a strengthening of the Kremlin's powers.
The Army let them in to spread terror, to trigger a street war that might serve as a pretext for an incursion by the armed forces.
But Russian ground forces already occupy parts of Ukraine, so any uptick in the fighting could serve as a pretext for a more expansive application of martial law.
The latest revelations could serve as a pretext to toughen existing rules further and force social media companies to implement broader changes worldwide.
In September 1980 a long-standing border dispute served as a pretext for Iraqi Pres.
Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion, fraudulent document that served as a pretext and rationale for anti-Semitism in the early 20th century.
It provided a way to bridge the gap between castes, and it served as a pretext for gathering without the interference of British forces.
Ironically, the Egyptian economy has been picking up since the countrywide protests on June 30 that served as a pretext for the military putsch.
His refusal to abandon what he considered to be obligations to numerous Germans in Iran served as a pretext for an Anglo-Soviet invasion of his country in 1941.
