The Triumph of Idealism: Perspectives on the Second World War and International Relations

Running head: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
International Relations
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Author Note

1INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
Introduction
The purpose of the following essay is to highlight on the different perspectives of the
Second World War. After the end of this war, entire scenario of the global politics had changed
completely. The destruction of Germany had been caused and it paved the way for some other
countries to step up and take up the leading role as dominant powers in the world. The kind of
politics that was played out before the Second World War began to take turn. Therefore, it was
quite obvious that the rise of the two powerful states marked the geo-political division of the
world. These two states were United States of America and United States of Soviet Russia. The
essay question centers on the fact if the ending of the Second World War can be regarded as
realist view of politics or it might have been the victory of idealism (Thompson 2015). In this
scenario, the rise and fall of United States of Soviet Russia (USSR) is very much pertinent.
The beginning of the cold war between USA and USSR notified the beginning of the cold
war in the world. The difference between the realism and idealism will have to be discovered and
explained in this essay. The growing of conflicts in the world between different countries in the
world have signified the realism. However, the establishment of international relations between
NATO and United Nations indicated the triumph of idealism in the world. So, the cold war and
its connection to realism will also be described here as well.
Realism and idealism in international relations
In the international relations, realism is a very complicated aspect and this factor
concerns about the conflictions between the two sides. These two sides are indulged in conflicts
for a very long time (Thompson 2015). The realism supporters always think of politics in a
destructive manner. The conflicts between the states have been noticed among the believers of

2INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
the ideology of realism. After the end of the Second World War, United States and USSR got
indulged in the cold war for a long time. This was a kind of bipolar war that was fought from
three issues. These are political, economic and military perspectives. At the end of the Cold war,
United States was considered as the supreme force since they had conquered vast regions of the
world. The bombing in Japan’s two cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki was the clear indication that
USA was becoming the most powerful force in the world (Thompson 2015).
On the contrary, the concept of idealism will have to be discussed. It is quite clear that
idealism is regarded as the complete opposite of realism. At the end of 1945, it was very clear
that Germany lost all their territories and it became a disaster (Maddox 2015). The dropping of
atom bombs on those two cities proved their supreme military power but the newly founded
United Nations was driven on the political ideology of global peace. The believers of idealism
thought that they were very much positive on all the aspects and they wanted to unify Europe.
Europe was devastated and felt the consequences of this World War in an extensive manner
(Thompson 2015). The idealists are always very much trustworthy by people in completing the
tasks that will do good for people. They always tend to perceive all things in the most positive
ways possible. This is why they are far different from the realists. In this case, the idealist logic
of NATO and UN could be measured. UN always aimed to carry out missions that would ensure
political, social and economic well being of individuals within the society (Tjalve and Williams
2015).
There are lots of positive things that can be attributed to the idealists. These people tend
to see the world with lots of hope for development. They also involve their emotional values
when they deal with the difficult situations (Maddox 2015). On the other hand, realists tend to
analyze and take action on a situation in the way as it is. Realists are more focused on fulfilling

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their goals or achieving their targets. But, the idealists do not have the clarity of thought and
ability put their intentions into action.
Result and aftershocks of Second World War
The Second World War is regarded as one of the biggest events in the historical timeline.
The geopolitical map of the world had completely changed after this event took place (Tjalve
and Williams 2015). The superior dominance of United States over the entire world was the
biggest outcome from this. Some events took place after Germany lost all their wealth, human
resource and territories. Many war crime trials took place including the Nuremberg trials. The
idealist thinkers were in action as they thought of creating new constitution for Germany (Sleat
2015). The Federal Republic of West Germany had been formed in the year 1949. This had been
formed as Germany was divided between allies. In this situation religion played a big role as
well. The Christian Democrat Konrad Adenauer had been elected as the chancellor of the FDR.
It was because they wanted to get rid of the pagan values in the country by appointing a Christian
chancellor (Sempa 2017).
According to the realist beliefs, many developmental activities had taken place with the
purpose of building Europe in a new manner. The Truman doctrine had been implemented in the
year 1947 so free people could be supported. The intention was to provide economic support for
the people of Greece and Turkey so they could contain the Communism (Sleat 2015). The rise of
communism has been regarded as one of the biggest factors to look into this scenario. In the year
1948/49, Berlin blockade took place that was initiated by the Soviet communists. On countering
this activity, NATO was joined by both Greece and Turkey. Critics have pointed out the fact that
Soviet creation of Warsaw pact to counter NATO’s decision was a path breaking incident