I have changed my perspective over the last few weeks, and being that I take such pride in my military service, I have begun to take on a realist perspective. 

To begin my discussion, I will post a quote from the textbook for the opposing argument.

Realists emphasize the struggle for power among states, not because they are blind to the growing influence of international institutions or non-state actors such as terrorists, but because states remain the most powerful actors in contemporary world affairs. (Nau, 2017)

This statement is important because it is important to see that power among states is an issue but ethic conflicts are decreasing while terrorism is increasing. The realist perspective shows the power among the states, and the struggle between weak and strong states. While states are powerful actors, I believe that terrorism is becoming a more popular alternative. 

Terrorism is different than other crimes because there is usually an objective, usually looking for a change in political figures, actions, or ideology. The realism perspective is simply explained as the weak looking for change by targeting the strong, which is the definition of terrorism. I believe that even though terrorism is a fear tactic and cowardly, it can be seen as more effective than peaceful protesting. 

These are my beliefs on today’s threat as well as the realist perspective on the topic. I am looking forward to discussing with others. What are your thoughts? Also, how can we mitigate terrorism?