ZEYNEP ÖKSÜZ 2297810

IR321 – 2ND ASSIGNMENT

Game Of Thrones From The Perspective Of A Realist

As a realist, I can say that the principal actors of Game of Thrones are Houses,
which are very state-like. Each war in the world of Game of Thrones started
because of their relationships and power struggles. There are nine great houses;
Stark, Arryn, Baratheon, Tully, Greyjoy, Lannister, Tyrell, Martell, and Targaryen.
To every house, an outside invasion is one of the most urgent threats as each
house is an independent entity and has its defined territory. Since higher
authority is absent among those houses, each house can only rely on itself alone.
For instance, Theon Greyjoy betrayed Starks when he was obliged to prove his
loyalty to other Greyjoys even though he was raised with Starks and was
considered as a part of their family.

When King Robert Baratheon died, all houses began to fight for the throne. The
barely existing balance of power, thus, began to collapse. All houses tried to rule
Westeros, and each had their own interests, which is explained in terms of
power. Initially, some characters hide their houses' interests disguised as moral
concerns, like Daenerys Targaryen. Daenerys first claimed that she freed the
slaves because she saw it as immoral, but later on, she used them as an army for
her wars. This illustration can be one of the indicators of human nature that is
actually selfish and evil. All of the wars in Westeros stem from the evil human
nature, and therefore, everything is about who will get more. Strong houses can
do whatever they want because they have the power, whereas weak ones try to
survive in that harsh world. Everything, in the end, can be concluded with "Strong
do what they can, weak suffer what they must."