According to realist philosopher Thomas Hobbes, in the state of nature, individuals lived together out of fear and they had the right to do anything necessary for survival in their struggle for life. This rather pessimistic view is at a distance from liberal ideas on state of nature and natural rights of human beings. In the Hobbesian (realist) tradition, for order in social life, obedience to law is important and the sovereign has the authority to use power. In terms of liberty, people are under complete subjection by the sovereign so through liberal lenses, their rights are not safe. Hobbes’ ideas have provided the philosophy behind the growth of the realist tradition in IR.