Lord of the Ring 3 and IR Theory Realism Research Paper

Lord of the Ring 3 and IR Theory Realism - Research Paper Example In addition, that development as wells as evolution can also seen in one of the important people involved activities of the ‘sphere’, which is the activity of politics. With the advancement in civilizations, people spread out and settled in new territories. In course of the history, those territories evolved into cities, states, and eventually countries. Along with this evolution and development of people and territories, the political setup, which ruled those civilizations, also evolved and new political setups entered the picture ruling cities, provinces or states and crucially countries. This evolution and establishment of different countries and their government setups have lead to the formulation of various theories and ideas including Realism by renowned thinkers and researchers, constituting under the International Relations domain. International Relations or IR for short, focuses on the relations between the countries of the world and how those relationship is ha ndled from the diplomatic and military perspective. The IR theory of Realism focuses on how a nation or territory will focus mainly on its interest and not from other perspective, and carry out actions accordingly. Although, IR theories including this Realism were formed mainly in the 20th century, and have applications in the current world, it can also be applied to fictional world as well, including historic fictional world. So, when this theory is applied to the historic fictional world featured in the movie The Lord of the Rings 3, it gives interesting perspectives. This paper focusing on the IR theory of Realism, will discuss how it has similarities as well as differences with the plot, events and characters specifically Sauron of Lord of the Rings 3. IR theory of Realism As pointed out above, Realism or political Realism is a key theory in the study of international relations which clearly prioritizes national interest as well as territorial security, over other forms of natio nal functioning including ideology, moral considerations, international peace, etc. As they give importance to these two aspects, they could indulge in offensive and aggressive actions against other territories or nations to uphold these aspects. â€Å"Realists consider the principal actors in the international arena to be states, which are concerned with their own security, act in pursuit of their own national interests, and struggle for power.†( Korab-Karpowicz). Thucydides, Machiavelli and Hobbes are regarded as the founding fathers of this Realism theory, however, the Twentieth-century classical Realism has been largely replaced in the current times by Neorealism.( Korab-Karpowicz). The difference between Realism and Neorealism is that, Neorealism incorporates a more scientific approach, when studies are conducted regarding the various aspects of international relations. However, Realism as a theory came into prominence mainly in the Cold War years, as both United States and Soviet Union carried out activities in various fields including Military, space, foreign relations, etc, etc, mainly to protect their self-interests. Thus, Realism during the Cold Wars â€Å"provided simple but powerful explanations for war, alliances, imperialism, obstacles to cooperation, and other international phenomena, and is consistent with the central features of the American-Soviet rivalry† (Little and Smith 387). The other key tenets of this Realism theory are, realists always view that the countries in the international system will always be in a constant state of antagonism, with a general distrust prevailing among the countries, and even among the countries, who are part of the alliance. The other key perspective is, â€Å"states must arrive at relations with other states on their own, rather than it