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Realpolitik
''Realpolitik'' ( ; ) is the approach of conducting diplomatic or political policies based primarily on considerations of given circumstances and factors, rather than strictly following ideological, moral, or ethical premises. In this respect, it shares aspects of its philosophical approach with those of realism and pragmatism. While generally used as a positive or neutral term, ''Realpolitik'' has been also used pejoratively to imply policies that are perceived as being coercive, amoral, or Machiavellian. Prominent proponents of ''Realpolitik'' include Otto von Bismarck, Henry Kissinger, George H.W. Bush, George F. Kennan, Zbigniew Brzezinski, Hans-Dietrich Genscher, Deng Xiaoping, Charles de Gaulle, and Lee Kuan Yew. The opposite of ''Realpolitik'' is '' Idealpolitik''. Etymology The term ''Realpolitik'' was coined by Ludwig von Rochau, a German writer and politician in the 19th century. His 1853 book ''Grundsätze der Realpolitik angewendet auf die staatlichen Zust ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Bew (historian)
John Bew is Professor in History and Foreign Policy at King's College London and from 2013 to 2014 held the Henry A. Kissinger Chair in Foreign Policy and International Relations at the John W. Kluge Center. In October 2024, he became distinguished visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University and Distinguished Advisor to the Australian National Security College. Bew has served in senior positions at the highest levels of the UK government. He spent over five years as the chief Foreign Policy Advisor in No.10 Downing Street, working for four Prime Ministers and through two general elections. He was the penholder on the last two UK national security strategies and intimately involved in the foreign policy challenges of that period, from the creation of AUKUS to the war in Ukraine. Uniquely, he has worked across the aisle, serving both Conservative and Labour administrations and moving from a political appointee to a civil service role. In 2021, he also ser ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Diplomacy
Diplomacy is the communication by representatives of State (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, non-governmental institutions intended to influence events in the international system.Ronald Peter Barston, ''Modern Diplomacy'', Pearson Education, 2006, p. 1 Diplomacy is the main instrument of foreign policy which represents the broader goals and strategies that guide a state's interactions with the rest of the world. International Treaty, treaties, Executive agreement, agreements, alliances, and other manifestations of international relations are usually the result of diplomatic negotiations and processes. Diplomats may also help shape a state by advising government officials. Modern diplomatic methods, practices, and principles originated largely from 17th-century European customs. Beginning in the early 20th century, diplomacy became professionalized; the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, ratified by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Realism (international Relations)
Realism, in international relations theory, is a Theory, theoretical framework that views world politics as an enduring competition among self-interested State (polity), states vying for power and positioning within an Anarchy (international relations), anarchic global system devoid of a centralized authority. It centers on State (polity), states as Rationalism (international relations), rational primary actors navigating a system shaped by power politics, national interest, and a pursuit of National security, security and self-preservation. Realism involves the strategic use of Military, military force and alliances to boost global influence while maintaining a Balance of power (international relations), balance of power. War is seen as inevitably inherent in the anarchic conditions of world politics. Realism also emphasizes the complex dynamics of the security dilemma, where actions taken for security reasons can unintentionally lead to tensions between states. Unlike Idealis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ludwig Von Rochau
August Ludwig von Rochau (20 August 1810 in Wolfenbüttel – 15 October 1873 in Heidelberg) was a German journalist and politician. He engaged in the ''Frankfurter Wachensturm'' of 1833 and subsequently spent ten years of exile in France. He published the famous ''Grundsätze der Realpolitik, angewendet auf die staatlichen Zustände Deutschlands'' ("Practical Politics: an Application of its Principles to the Situation of the German States") in 1853. Biography Rochau was born out of wedlock in northern Germany in 1810. Rochau studied law, history, and political science in Jena and Göttingen. He was among the fifty students who stormed the Hauptwache (guard house or police headquarters) in Frankfurt. After the failure of the uprising, Rochau was arrested and condemned to prison for life. However, his friends helped him escape to France, where he lived in exile for the next ten years and wrote essays for liberal German newspapers. He operated as a political journalist during the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Civil Service
The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service official, also known as a public servant or public employee, is a person employed in the public sector by a government department or agency for public sector undertakings. Civil servants work for central and local governments, and answer to the government, not a political party. The extent of civil servants of a state as part of the "civil service" varies from country to country. In the United Kingdom (UK), for instance, only The Crown, Crown (national government) employees are referred to as "civil servants" whereas employees of local authorities (counties, cities and similar administrations) are generally referred to as "local government officers", who are considered public servants but not civil servants. Thus, in the UK, a civil servant is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Imperial Examination
The imperial examination was a civil service examination system in History of China#Imperial China, Imperial China administered for the purpose of selecting candidates for the Civil service#China, state bureaucracy. The concept of choosing bureaucrats by merit rather than by birth started Imperial examination in Chinese mythology, early in Chinese history, but using written examinations as a tool of selection started in earnest during the Sui dynasty (581–618), then into the Tang dynasty (618–907). The system became dominant during the Song dynasty (960–1279) and lasted for almost a millennium until its abolition during the late Qing reforms, late Qing dynasty reforms in 1905. The key sponsors for abolition were Yuan Shikai, Yin Chang and Zhang Zhidong. Aspects of the imperial examination still exist for entry into the civil service of both China and Taiwan. The exams served to ensure a common knowledge of writing, Chinese classics, and literary style among state officials. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Civil Service Entrance Examination
Civil service examinations are examinations implemented in various countries for recruitment and admission to the civil service. They are intended as a method to achieve an effective, rational public administration on a merit system for recruiting prospective politicians and public sector employees. The most ancient example of such exams were the imperial examinations of ancient China. Competitive exam Competitive examinations are tests where candidates are ranked according to their grades and/or percentile and then top rankers are selected. If the examination is open for ''n'' positions, then the first ''n'' candidates in ranks pass, the others are rejected. They are used as entrance examinations for university and college admissions such as the Joint Entrance Examination or to secondary schools. Types are civil service examinations, required for positions in the public sector; the U.S. Foreign Service Exam, and the United Nations Competitive Examination. Competitive ex ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Legalism (Chinese Philosophy)
''Fajia'' ( zh, s=法家, p=fǎjiā), or the School of ''fa'' (laws, methods), early translated ''Legalism'' for Shang Yang, is a school of thought representing a broader bibliography, collection of primarily Warring States period classical Chinese philosophy, incorporating more administrative works traditionally said to be rooted in Huang-Lao Daoism. Addressing practical governance challenges of the unstable feudal system, their ideas 'contributed greatly to the formation of the Chinese empire' and bureaucracy, advocating concepts including rule by fa (concept), law, sophisticated administrative fa (concept), technique, and ideas of state power. They are often interpreted in the West along Realism (international relations), realist lines. Though persisting, the Qin to Tang dynasty, Tang were more characterized by the 'centralizing tendencies' of their traditions. The school incorporates the more legalistic ideas of Li Kui (legalist), Li Kui and Shang Yang, and more administrat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kenneth Waltz
Kenneth Neal Waltz (; June 8, 1924 – May 12, 2013) was an American political scientist who was a member of the faculty at both the University of California, Berkeley, and Columbia University and one of the most prominent scholars in the field of international relations. He was a veteran of both World War II and the Korean War. Waltz was one of the original founders of neorealism, or structural realism, in international relations theory and later became associated with the school of defensive neorealism. Waltz's theories have been extensively debated within the field of international relations. His 1979 book '' Theory of International Politics'' is the most assigned book in International Relations graduate training at U.S. universities. Early life, education, and military service Waltz was born on June 8, 1924, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he grew up and attended high school. He then enrolled at Oberlin College in Ohio, where he initially majored in mathematics. His college ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Power Politics
Power politics is a term which denotes an approach to political matters which aims to enhance the power of government actors. The term has much usage in the realm of international relations, and it is often used pejoratively. The German term for it, Machtpolitik, emphasizes conflict between nations as a way to assert national will and strengthen the state. This idea is related to Realpolitik but specifically acknowledges the use of force in establishing the German Empire. It often involves a romanticized view of military virtues and the belief that international conflicts serve a moral purpose. In the context of social and political power more broadly, historians argue that people in power tend to use more coercive tactics, increase social distance from those with less power, distrust those with less power, and undervalue their work and abilities. Cyclical theories of power politics George Modelski George Modelski defines global order as a 'management network centred o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
International Relations
International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns all activities among states—such as war, diplomacy, trade, and foreign policy—as well as relations with and among other international actors, such as intergovernmental organizations (IGOs), international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs), international legal bodies, and multinational corporations (MNCs). International relations is generally classified as a major multidiscipline of political science, along with comparative politics, political methodology, political theory, and public administration. It often draws heavily from other fields, including anthropology, economics, geography, history, law, philosophy, and sociology. There are several schools of thought within IR, of which the most prominent are realism, l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Unification Of Germany
The unification of Germany (, ) was a process of building the first nation-state for Germans with federalism, federal features based on the concept of Lesser Germany (one without Habsburgs' multi-ethnic Austria or its German-speaking part). It commenced on 18 August 1866 with the adoption of the North German Confederation Treaty establishing the North German Confederation, initially a military alliance ''de facto'' dominated by the Kingdom of Prussia which was subsequently deepened through adoption of the North German Constitution. The process symbolically concluded when most of the south German states joined the North German Confederation with the ceremonial proclamation of the German Empire (German Reich) having States of the German Empire, 25 member states and led by the Kingdom of Prussia of Hohenzollerns on 18 January 1871; the event was typically celebrated as the date of the German Empire's foundation, although the legally meaningful events relevant to the completion of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
