Power was now beginning to spread among many actors and it became harder for dominant powers to control the division of it, as they had been able to do in the past. The United States, for example, found themselves in the Cold War with the U.S.S.R. This was a complete war of power struggle each attempting to out do the other and put the other in a place where they felt threatened. Although no actual fighting occurred, the hostility along with the imminent threat provided for a threatening situation in which both powers sought to win. The United States was more economically stable and technologically advanced so in the end came out on top, but this example shows that even in today's world unpredictable outside factors (for the cold war is was the proliferation of nuclear missiles) can create hostile situations in which even the most developed states are threatened. Security has never been provided under this aggression/dominance society for after the conflict is "resolved" the changes made towards society still encompass the same drives and power struggles. .
In today's world, there are many of these such outside issues that have a role in politics and it is those issues that look to grow immensely over the next decade. With technological advancements being made around the world, environmental issues posing a more imminent threat, state and non-state actors aggressing towards nation states, and the eminent fall of non-western beliefs the new world is not able to be seen under the realist eye any longer. Liberal constructivism seeks to captivate the new ideas of the human nature and seeks liberation in the fact that although new, these ideas were apparent throughout history, yet were misguided under the notion that they would be lost in the struggle for autonomous power. .
This belief of liberal constructivism does not focus on material issues, but, rather, values the importance of international institutions.
