The state is a fragile organization, and the statesman does not have the moral right to risk its survival on ethical restraint.
HENRY KISSINGERorder without freedom, even if sustained by momentary exaltation, eventually creates its own counterpoise; yet freedom cannot be secured or sustained without a framework of order to keep the peace.
More Henry Kissinger Quotes
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In effect, none of the most important countries which must build a new world order have had any experience with the multi-state system that is emerging. Never before has a new world order had to be assembled from so many different perceptions, or on so global a scale.
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Woe to the statesman whose arguments for entering a war are not as convincing at its end as they were at the beginning, Bismarck had cautioned.
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Power without legitimacy tempts tests of strength; legitimacy without power tempts empty posturing.
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The Soviet Union would never be bound by agreements, Deng warned; it understood only the language of countervailing force.
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It has the added advantage of being true.
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A turbulent history has taught Chinese leaders that not every problem has a solution and that too great an emphasis on total mastery over specific events could upset the harmony of the universe.
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We live in a wondrous time, in which the strong is weak because of his scruples and the weak grows strong because of his audacity.
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A diamond is a chunk of coal that did well under pressure.
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Self-governed nations do not fill their neighbor states with spies.
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Intellectuals analyze the operations of international systems; statesmen build them.
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In the end, peace can be achieved only by hegemony or by balance of power.
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If Chinese exceptionalism represented the claims of a universal empire, Japanese exceptionalism sprang from the insecurities of an island nation borrowing heavily from its neighbor, but fearful of being dominated by it.
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If you don’t know where you are going, every road will get you nowhere.
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Corrupt politicians make the other ten percent look bad.
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For Roosevelt, if a nation was unable or unwilling to act to defend its own interests, it could not expect others to respect them. Inevitably,
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It is not a matter of what is true that counts, but a matter of what is perceived to be true.
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A country that demands moral perfection in its foreign policy will achieve neither perfection nor security
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The illegal we do immediately. The unconstitutional takes a little longer.
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Power is the ultimate aphrodisiac.
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Don’t be too ambitious. Do the most important thing you can think of doing every year and then your career will take care of itself.
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Where is the Life we have lost in living? Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?
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Who controls the money controls the world.
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Yet freedom cannot be secured or sustained without a framework of order to keep the peace.
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The issues are too important to be left for the voters.
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To undertake a journey on a road never before traveled requires character and courage: character because the choice is not obvious; courage because the road will be lonely at first. And the statesman must then inspire his people to persist in the endeavor.
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Politicians are like dogs, Their life expectancy is too short for a commitment to be bearable
HENRY KISSINGER