Liberals believe that peaceful relations exist between democracies due to Democratic Peace Theory (DPT) and have faith in humanity with a positive vision of human nature; unlike the realists. Realists emphasize the importance of state sovereignty and criticize liberals for being too utopian, putting individual interests before collective ones. In this essay I will critically discuss both theories and come to a conclusion on which theory I think has a better understanding of security. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Liberalism became important during the Age of Enlightenment; attentive to people's safety, believing in freedom, human rights and equality, just to name a few. They suggest that government is a necessary evil, needed to protect its individuals from the harm of others, but in reality it may pose a threat to liberty (Paine 1776). Their faith in humanity and a positive view of human nature means that they believe that human reason can triumph over the greedy desire for power. A key component of liberalism is DPT which can be traced back to the 1700s. DPT emphasizes that democracies share the same values; peaceful conflict resolution is seen as morally superior to violent behavior and therefore acts of war, unlike realists who advocate military intervention. Liberals argue that the spread of democracy leads to greater security; however, it is a misconception that this means that democratic countries never go to war. Instead, he argues that democracies do not go to war with each other. Liberals also believe in other factors than just power politics; Economic interaction and interdependence between states also plays a vital role, as it significantly strengthens peace and has mutual benefits. Economic interdependence facilitates greater cooperation, reducing military conflict and making the world safer. Ricardo said that international trade is a great incentive for countries to cooperate internationally and consequently maintain peace, so no matter what kind of state you are, whether it is a democracy or a dictatorship, it will hinder your aspects of peace. Kant's (1795) idea of ​​perpetual peace is described as "permanently established over a certain area". Perpetual peace is probably considered the beginning of contemporary liberal thought and suggests that most people would not vote for war except as an act of self-defense. However, Kant goes on to say that this is nothing more than an idea, it cannot be realized but is a constant goal that states must work towards. More recently, after 9/11, the United States created a liberal international system based on multilateralism and interdependence. Ikenberry (2008) argues that “today's Western order, in short, is hard to overthrow and easy to join.” Ikenberry goes on to describe US foreign policy under Trump: “The most powerful state in the world began to sabotage the order it had created.” The system has created economic interdependence through foreign direct investment and export markets. Overall, liberalism in the past has been beneficial and has strengthened the world with international organizations such as the World Bank. Today liberalism is not as strong, its ideas can be seen as naive regarding perpetual peace and the belief that democracies will not go to war with each other. However, the ideas of liberalism should not.