The Past, the Present and the Now

In every species, be it physical, like an organism, or abstract, like a state, the primary goal of existence is survival. This goal is apparent throughout the theory of realism as explained in Measrsheimer’s article “Anarchy and the Struggle for Power.” As it is every state's goal to survive, this theory can be applied to explain the world of international relations. In the following paragraphs, I will argue, using Measrsheimer’s article and the foreign policies of states, that all governments, in the past, present and future, compete ruthlessly for power in the anarchic system and use any means to obtain and keep the status of regional hegemony.

            The foreign policies of the United States within the past seventy years have generally included maintaining a global peace and spreading democracy throughout the world. Though these goals can be linked to aspects of realism’s rivaling theory, liberalism, the sole reason for these pursuits is to defend the state in order to protect its title of a great power. When our foreign policy is stripped down to the bare bones, it is clear that, though it may seem the main goals are peace and democracy, these are only covers for the true ambition of survival. Measrsheimer explains, “Survival dominates other motives because, once conquered, it is unlikely to be in a position to pursue other aims,” (Measrsheimer). If states fight for lesser goals such as peace, it will become increasingly hard to maintain their survival. Therefore, any and all states will choose to survive over lesser pursuits that simply help maintain survival. An example of this policy in use is the Vietnam War. On the surface, this war was seen as a defense of democracy; however, the United Sates faced clear threats to their survival. Vietnam was in a state of turmoil and the government that was beginning to emerge was communist. Communism was seen as a threat to the United States as a global power, as its rival power at the time, the Soviet Union, was also a communist state. Because of the stand off between these two powers, the Soviet Union had the ability to jeopardize the United State’s status of regional hegemony, and they therefore needed to enter a war to keep communism from becoming a dominant form of government.  This struggle for power is a prime example of how states follow the aspects of realism to survive. Even now, the United States is still fighting other states, such as Afghanistan and Syria, in the pursuit to maintain their power.

            Realism has been driving the intentions of states throughout history because of its basic principle of the need to survive and, while doing so, achieve and maintain absolute power. All global struggles, including anything from small stand-offs to global wars, can be attributed to the need to survive. We will continue to see these ideologies define the foreign policies of all states throughout the world because in the struggle to survive, those who fight the hardest will be successful.