“In the place where idealism and realism meet, that is where there is the greatest evolutionary tension.” Idealism prioritizes ideals, social reforms and morals, by wanting to benefit not just yourself, but the world around you, believing people are generally good. On the contrary, realism gives priority to national interest and security with emphasis on promoting one’s own power and influence by assuming that people are egocentric by nature. Based on the definitions stated above, idealism and realism are significantly different from each other and their divergence of thought is more apparent when various proponents of each such as Woodrow Wilson, Henry Lodge, Barack Obama and George W. Bush have varied outlooks on comparable issues in politics. Subsequently, an idealist’s reaction to a particular issue would be a lot different than a realist’s response. Therefore, idealism deals with normative ideas and allows for improvements in the progress of not only a single state, but the whole world, however realism solely focuses on the benefits of one’s own nation.
To begin with, Woodrow Wilson, the 28th president of the United States is one of the most influential and known idealist in history. He is recognized as an idealist because of his admirable ambitions and his strive for excellence. He had a major role after World War One, when he presented his Fourteen Points. The Fourteen Points were meant to bring peace to the world and make it so that another tragic war like the Great War would not occur again. His Fourteen Points Speech is a perfect example of idealism because in the speech Wilson talked about free trade, self-determination, disarmament, freedom of the seas, and the most important part of the speech was the League of Nat...
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...racy, 2008, BarackObama.com.
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Woodrow Wilson, the 28th president of the United States, led America through World War I and created the Versailles Treaty's "Fourteen Points," the foremost of which was the “League of Nations”. Wilson also signed the 19th Amendment allowing women the right to vote. Wilson considered himself the representative of the people and believed in creating a new world order of democracy. His ideas led to the philosophy known as “Wilsonianism”. This is a foreign policy which believes peace will prosper if given the right conditions around the world. His drive and belief in ideals is apparent throughout his life, and he is responsible for many of America’s achievements during World War I as well as many mistakes. (Sidey)
Frieden, Jeffry A., David A. Lake, and Kenneth A. Schultz. World Politics. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2013. Print.
In recent years, President Obama and the way he handles things has become a very controversial topic. In the article “Obama’s ‘Where’s Waldo?’ Presidency” Ruth Marcus describes that controversy, in which she gives her opinion of President Obama. Marcus begins by discussing how in Barack Obama’s campaign he talked about “change we can believe in”, but she later tells the reader that he has “been missing in action” (Marcus, Paragraph 1). Throughout the article, she tells of numerous issues that Obama seemed to be missing on, and presents the reader with the question, where is President Obama?
Mingst, K. A. (2011). Essentials of international relations. (5th ed., p. 79). New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company.
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Viotti, P., & Kauppi, M. (2013). International Relations and World Politics. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education, Inc.
in a trance or sleep state where you at times may not be able to tell
Lott Jr., John R.. At the Brink: Will Obama Push Us Over The Edge?. Washington DC: Regnery
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In conclusion, both Presidents ended the wars inherited by previous presidents; however President Obama’s approach was much less controversial and more effective than Nixon’s approach. Nixon’s plan backfired and caused him to lose more American lives than he had planned. Obama’s plan focused on stopping American casualties and bringing troops back after Afghan was actually ready to fight for themselves. Nixon’s approach was selfish, while President Obama’s approach was used to benefit American and Afghan politics and society.
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Mingst, K. (2011). Essentials of international relations. (5th ed., p. 70-1). New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company
In International Relations it is commonly accepted that there is a wide range of different theoretical approaches which attempt to provide an explanation for the different dynamics of the global political system. Realism and Liberalism are well known theories which are considered to be two of the most important theories in international relations. They are two contrasting ideas when it comes to explaining how two states relate to each other in the absence of a world government. Both theories agree that the world is in anarchy and therefore it is helpful to start with a definition of anarchy and what it implies. This essay aims to discuss the contrasts between Liberalism and Realism as well as how these two theories agree that the world is anarchy.
It was said by John F. Kennedy, “domestic policy can only defeat us, foreign policy can kill us,” this shows just how important it is when dealing with issues surrounding foreign policy. One of President Obama’s foreign policy achievements was in Lybia when he decided to join with N.A.T.O to remove Ghaddafi from power. Initially, this mission was criticized greatly by both sides for getting involved in the middle of the Libyan
The military strategy in Afghanistan was lined out for Obama by General Stanley McChrystal. It was made intensely clear that if the plan was denied, it would be almost like declari...