Jonathan Paul Loomis

February 5, 1999

World Politics

Dr. Gregg

Dr. Strangelove definitely stands in contrast to the realist theory of world politics. It does not necessarily present an alternative, but rather points out the oversights of the realist theory. While the realist theory of international relations argues that states are the only important actors on the international stage and that they act like single rational individuals, the movie points out that this is definitely not so. At its most fundamental level the movie is based on the argument that states do not act like single individuals. General Ripper acted alone when he sent his aircraft into combat. His actions do not represent the actions of the state, nor were they rational. While Peter Seller's character of the President does act rationally and as the representative of the state, his counterpart in Moscow did not act rationally when he chose to conceal the doomsday device. In general, the film argued that states are made up of many various individuals with conflicting motives who are all attempting to control the same resources and often do not act rationally or in a way that would be beneficial to the entire state's population.