218 Journal of the Spanish Institute for Strategic Studies Núm. 13 / 2019 both are rational states and, therefore, subject to what Ortega y Gasset called “the prior submission of force to the methods of reason”10. This realistic offensive view of international relations in the context of the Magh-reb means that we see Morocco and Algeria as two states seeking to become the hegemonic power in their geographical region, which makes them antagonists. In this process of seeking and consolidating regional hegemony, both states try to im-pose themselves on the other, while at the same time resisting all interference from other regional powers in their area of influence11. For that purpose they employ ex-pansionary security policies leading to continuous competition that could lead to confrontation. A systemic view of Security Policies in the Maghreb Structural realism offers a systemic view of international relations centred on the structure of the international system and the relations between states as main actors interacting with each other (what is known as the third image of International Relations), as opposed to the reductionist view that focuses its attention on the individual and the internal characteristics of the state, i.e. the first and second images12. This systemic approach to international relations has the advantage of explaining armed conflicts not as a consequence of the aggres-siveness, megalomania or malice of state leaders, but of the nature of the inter-national system itself13. As Kenneth Waltz states: “the pressure of competition (between states) weighs more heavily than ideological preferences or internal political pressures”14. Thus, external conditioning factors derived from the structure of the international system, and not internal particularities, are those that most influence the security pol-icy of states, including their external behaviour15. This circumstance is even more evi-dent in the case of Morocco and Algeria, which are regional powers given that, unlike the great powers that adapt their external strategies to their external circumstances, 10 JOHNSON, Ch. (1966). Revolutionary Change, Boston, Little Brown, p.13. 11 JORDÁN, J. (2018). Un modelo de análisis geopolítico para el estudio de las relaciones internacionales, Documento Marco, DIEEEM04-2018), Instituto Español de Estudios Estratégicos, p.5. 12 WALTZ, K (1979). Op.Cit., p.19. 13 SPIRTAS, Michael (1996). A House Divided: Tragedy and Evil in Realist Theory, Security Studies, vol. 5, No.3. pp.387-400. 14 WALTZ, K (1986). Reflections on Theory of International Politics: A Response to My. Critics’, in Robert Keohane (ed.), Neorealism and its Critics, New York, Columbia University Press, p.329. 15 JORDÁN, J. (2013). Enfoques teóricos de los Estudios Estratégicos, Javier Jordán (Coord.), Manual de Estudios Estratégicos y Seguridad Internacional, pp15-43, Madrid, Plaza y Valdés.20. Revista del Instituto Español de Estudios Estratégicos n.º 13 - Año: 2019 - Págs.: 213 a 242
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