Running head: REALIST PERSPECTIVE ON U.S INVASION OF IRAQ
1
REALIST PERSPECTIVE ON U.S INVASION OF IRAQ
Name
School
Instructor
Course
REALIST PERSPECTIVE OF USA INVASION OF IRAQ
2
The Middle East – a geopolitical area that is represented by predominantly Arab states in Asia
and Northern Africa. Many scholars have studied these states in recent decades in terms of their economy,
politics, and general society. All these being interrelated and encompassed with other influencing factors,
scholars have realized the complexity behind studying Middle Eastern countries in comparison to others.
Iraq, recognized as a Middle Eastern state, is one of the many countries that scholars have studied in
attempt to understand their societal, political and economic system. Dictatorship in the state was the
major political system for many decades, but the start of the 21
st
century brought a major regime shift
after an invasion by the United States. The major change seen was that the US attempted to turn Iraq into
a democratic state. Why did the US want to turn Iraq into a democratic state after their invasion and how
did this change the identity of the Iraqi system after leaving a dictatorship regime? Although there are
many viewpoints and ideologies that can explain these questions, this paper will attempt to answer them
using a realist political perspective. Specifically, this paper will explore how the US invasion changed the
identity of the Iraqi system in an attempt to successfully democratize the state. This will be done by first
illustrating and defining realism and what a realist perspective is; then discuss the conflict that led to the
Iraq invasion by the US with a realist lens; and finally analyze the effects of this on democratization and
the identity of the state.
Realism focuses on emphasizing the morality and reality of individuals in the society based on
international relations. This theory eliminates the view of the world as a fantasy and makes it a reality to
researchers as the idea behind it leads to states acting based on their national interests or even to other
nation’s interest. Competitiveness and conflictual sides in international politics are key areas of study on
the theory. The pursuit of security, interests and struggle for power makes the positive impact of realism,
REALIST PERSPECTIVE OF USA INVASION OF IRAQ
3
however selfish interests arise from these nations as an end result. Realism is defined on two major areas;
classical realism and neo-realism. Classical is basically understanding human beings and their quest for
power. According to Kenneth Waltz (2010), classical realism has been substituted by neo-realism as this
based on real assumptions of the international system framework. Political realism is attempts to give
sovereignty sphere to human activities in the relation to ethics in politics, political judgement and
legitimacy over justice. In recent years, political realism has emerged to seek regiment politics through
