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1 Cha September 24, 2003 Writing 140 Jennifer Malia An Additional Form of Realism The new influence of international terrorist groups has helped to define, if not reshape, our views of realism. When originally conceived, realism was a play between sovereign state actors. This zero-sum game was a struggle between nations with defined borders, leaders, and governments. However, in this new age of nomadic extremist organizations and persons, power is no longer possessed by state actors anymore. Powerful regional and global terrorist organizations now gain power though fear. Groups like Hamas and Al-Qaeda, as well as individuals like Timothy McVeigh gain their power by exploiting the emotion of citizens. Terrorists do not "attack military or government centers with an eye toward seizing power, it targets unsuspecting victims who may have nothing to do with the terrorists' grievances" (Greenberg, 1).The notion that there is a new acting group in power politics has put sovereign countries on edge. The traditional realist model has not been altered. The old realist model still helps to define politics among nations as diplomacy is mainly between two or more sovereign states. Instead, there is just an addition of a new realist model which complements the old. In new realism, groups and individuals are the additional variables that play into a domestic power grab in which the government holds almost all the power. In the case of new realism, power is defined as the amount of perceived control by an actor. Even if the Cha 2 terrorist group may be international like AL-Queada, the power grab is still internal, because an attack affects the citizens of a single nation. The new realism is independent of the power pool in the traditional realism and instead changes the stability, domestically of a government. The initial terrorist attack in the tinderbox of the Middle East was the hijacking of an Israeli airplane by the PLO, which was an attack that showed Israel was internally insecure. Yasser Arafat, as the chairman of the PLO, masterminded first the significant airplane hijacking. This incident gave way to a huge redevelopment of internal; security. As a response, the Israeli government hardened all cockpit doors and placed armed security agents on every Israeli owned airline. The internal security buildup was a response to the lost of power by the Israeli government to the PLO terrorist group. The internal security buildup helped to bring a sense of security to the Israeli people. As a result of the Israeli government's action, Israel is now known to have the safest airline in the world. At least temporarily, the power was shifted back to the government from the terrorist groups. The PLO's goal of increasing its power was achieved. In addition, the PLO helped to spark Islamic fundamentalism throughout the Middle East. In Israel, groups like Hamas, Hezbollah, and Islamic Jihad have help to create a state where the sovereign government does not control an overwhelming amount of power (Greenburg, 3). Even as the internal turmoil continues, the prestige and respect Israel receives in the Cha 3 international community as not faltered. In terms of old realism, Israel still has the same amount of political power in the international community as before. As the United States was hit by the terrorist attacks of September 11th, Al-Qaeda changed the internal power balance in the United States. The terrorist attacks prompted the government to work on regaining its power. Most importantly, the Patriot Act passed and the FAA increased the security of air travel. The FAA took suggestions from Israel and implemented measures like hardening cockpit doors and increases the rigorousness of security procedures. All these actions were taken by the American government in an attempt to persuade the American people that there is security. Al-Qaeda's attack on America was just the latest action on the organizations part to gain power..... Some may argue that Al-Qaeda's attack on the Untied States is not a power shift domestically in the United States but globally. Instead,

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