Analysis of the Threats
To begin with, examination of the notion of threat is very important nowadays because it is usually present in the political discourses all over the world. Threat as a notion of moral realm was investigated by theories of realism that affected its content.
Again, first theories of realism of Thucydides and Machiavelli gave an insight into connection between the power and moral obligations that has its implications for the development of thread. Analysis of international politics, done by Machiavelli, leads to the conclusion that as long as power is a determinant factor there, moral obligations should be denied. At the same time, Thucydides leaves some space for their preservation in the political community. So, the status of the ethical principles which is quite low in these theories, opens space for the power abuse which is the biggest threat for the wellbeing of populations.
However, rationalist theories fail to understand the subjective factors of the threat perception like emotions and ideology conveyed by the media. On the international level emotional cognition can also be helpful for the identification of psychological processes of threat perception construction. To give an example, in the USA media use, political knowledge and experience are influencing the perception of threat in combination. People who has substantial political knowledge may have sharper view of threat presented in the media as long as this knowledge are lenses through which particular events are viewed. The postmodern nature of threat such as global warming or religious fanaticism makes these threats to be more conductive for the perception. So, the media shapes the perception of threat by USA citizens but in a complex way.
All in all, threat is a social construct that is very complex and depend on subjective perspective. Theories of realism can explain threat perception only partly. Personal emotions and ideology conveyed by media also play important role in the threat perception all over the world.
Notes
Forde, S. (1992). Varieties of realism: Thucydides and Machiavelli. The Journal of Politics, 54(2), 372-393.Ridout, T. N., Grosse, A. C., & Appleton, A. M. (2008). News Media Use and Americans' Perceptions of Global Threat. British journal of political science, 38(04), 575-593.
Stein, J. G. (2013). Threat perception in international relations. The Oxford handbook of political psychology, …
