In his essay, ‘Perpetual Peace,’ the philosopher, Immanuel Kant, argued that perpetual peace would eventually come to the world in one of two ways, by human insight or by conflicts and catastrophes of a magnitude that left humanity no other choice. We are at such a juncture.
HENRY KISSINGERWhen statesmen want to gain time, they offer to talk.
More Henry Kissinger Quotes
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Empires have no interest in operating within an international system; they aspire to be the international system.
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Order always requires a subtle balance of restraint, force, and legitimacy.
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Every victory is only the price of admission to a more difficult problem
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Nobody will ever win the battle of the sexes. There is too much fraternizing with the enemy.
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Chinese thinkers developed strategic thought that placed a premium on victory through psychological advantage and preached the avoidance of direct conflict.
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The war is just when the intention that causes it to be undertaken is just. The will is therefore the principle element that must be considered, not the means, He who intends to kill the guilty sometimes faultlessly shed the blood of the innocents
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George Bernard Shaw: There are two tragedies in life. One is to lose your heart’s desire. The other is to gain it.
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Later I learned to improve my forecasting—if necessary by asking the visitor in advance what subjects he intended to raise with Nixon.
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The issues are too important to be left for the voters.
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In short, the end justifies the means.
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It’s a pity both sides can’t lose (commenting on Iran-Iraq war, 1980 – 1988)
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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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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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Power without legitimacy tempts tests of strength; legitimacy without power tempts empty posturing.
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