Answering the 12 mark essay - analyse the explanations of global politics provided by the anarchical society theory

Liberals and realists have very different positions on security and the likelihood of conflict. Firstly they differ on the notion of power. Realists like Mearsheimer believe that the type of power that really matters is military power. If a nation cannot defend itself from potential adversaries, it will never feel safe. This is what they term the ‘security dilemma’, that is the constant accumulation of power to ward off potential aggressors.