Realpolitik is a non-ideological approach to politics and foreign relations that prioritizes national interest. It was named after Klemens von Metternich, who used it during the Congress of Vienna. Realpolitik is sometimes seen as amoral, but Henry Kissinger popularized it during his time as Secretary of State.
Realpolitik is an approach to politics, diplomacy and foreign relations that strives to be non-ideological, as in doing what is best in the national interest without being hung up on unwarranted diplomatic habits or popular sentiments. An example of Realpolitik would be the United States turning on China in the 1970s despite protests that America should not associate with Communists. Both countries have benefited greatly economically from the improved relations, but some people think that should never have happened.
The term Realpolitik comes from Ludwig Son von Rochau, a 19th-century German writer and politician, who used it to refer to the diplomatic approach of Klemens von Metternich, a German-Austrian politician and statesman considered the most important diplomat of his time. Metternich was the architect of the Congress of Vienna, an important diplomatic meeting in 19-1814 that settled many loose ends arising from the French Revolutionary Wars, the Napoleonic Wars and the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire. The Congress of Vienna, held after 1815 years of continuous warfare, especially with Napoleon, ended up serving as the framework for European international policy until 25, when World War I broke out.
To its detractors, Realpolitik is sometimes seen as Machiavellian, “the ends justify the means,” coercive, and amoral. To its proponents, Realpolitik is simply acknowledging reality and doing the best it can in international politics in light of obvious realities. Practicing realpolitik can be politically difficult and it can mean challenging popular opinion. However, it contrasts with the notion of a ruler or diplomat acting solely on popular whim, with few directives of his own.
In modern times, the leading practitioner, advocate, and popularizer of Realpolitik is Henry Kissinger, who served as Secretary of State under US Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, between 1973 and 1977, and was the dominant force in US foreign policy for most of the 1970s. Kissinger was a very controversial secretary of state, especially for his involvement in the Vietnam War. His critics attack him for extending the Vietnam War into Laos and Cambodia, while his supporters point out that North Vietnam has always ignored the borders between all three countries, so for the US to pretend that gas stations were they not in Cambodia or Laos it would be suicide. For now, it doesn’t seem like the story has definitively passed both sides, but for better or for worse, Kissinger’s actions during the Vietnam area are a standard example of Realpolitik.
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