Realism explains the rise of ISIS and the response of the two super powers. (c2016)

Abstract

The rise of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), a non- state actor, is explained through realism although realism does not have much to say about non- state actors and their terrorist acts. The rise of ISIS and its violent acts in the Middle East and some Western countries triggered the response of the international community via

power rivals: the United States and Russia to the rise of ISIS. Despite the fact that both super powers aim at defeating ISIS, the United States and other Western powers continue to perceive Russia as contributing to international instability whether in its actions in Ukraine or in Syria. This super power rivalry undermines the struggle against ISIS. The thesis concludes that cooperation between the US and Russia over global issues such as over the Ukrainian Crisis is a postulate in order to achieve a transitional government in Syria. Realism as a broad school of thought and its variants is used as a guide to explain the rise of ISIS and the United States and

foreign policies toward the Middle East and Eastern Europe.