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Henry Kissinger quotes

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“A war is just when the intention that causes it to be undertaken is just...” Henry Kissinger, Diplomacy
“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.” Henry Kissinger, On China
“For the greatest part of humanity and the longest periods of history, empire has been the typical mode of government. Empires have no interest in operating within an international system; they aspire to be the international system.” Henry Kissinger, Diplomacy
“In Washington the appearance of power is therefore almost as important as the reality of it; in fact, the appearance is frequently its essential reality.” Henry Kissinger, White House Years
“For moderation is a virtue only in those who are thought to have a choice.” Henry Kissinger, White House Years
“Leaders are responsible not for running public opinion polls but for the consequences of their actions.” Henry Kissinger, White House Years
“We cannot always assure the future of our friends; we have a better chance of assuring our future if we remember who our friends are.” Henry Kissinger, White House Years
“The United States is not reliable, she would give you a little something, but not much. How could imperialism give you a full meal?” Henry Kissinger, On China
“A country that demands moral perfection of itself as a test of its foreign policy will achieve neither perfection nor security.” Henry Kissinger, Diplomacy
“Communism, advertised as bringing a classless society, tended to breed a privileged class of feudal proportions.” Henry Kissinger, On China
“right is more precious than peace” Henry Kissinger, Diplomacy
“Realpolitik for Bismarck depended on flexibility and on the ability to exploit every available option without the constraint of ideology.” Henry Kissinger, Diplomacy
“Beyond the slogans lay an intellectual vacuum: truculent language masked an inner hollowness” Henry Kissinger, Diplomacy
“Politicians are like dogs. Their life expectancy is too short for a commitment to be bearable.” Henry Kissinger, White House Years
“And history teaches this iron law of revolutions: the more extensive the eradication of existing authority, the more its successors must rely on naked power to establish themselves. For, in the end, legitimacy involves an acceptance of authority...” Henry Kissinger, Diplomacy
“Intellectuals analyze the operations of international systems; statesmen build them.” Henry Kissinger, Diplomacy
“Too punitive for conciliation, too lenient to keep Germany from recovering, the treaty of Versailles condemned the exhausted democracies to constant vigilance and to the need for permanent enforcement against an irreconcilable and revisionist...” Henry Kissinger, Diplomacy
“Because complexity inhibits flexibility, early choices are especially crucial.” Henry Kissinger, Diplomacy
“No country can act wisely simultaneously in every part of the globe at every moment of time.” Henry Kissinger, White House Years
“The public life of every political figure is a continual struggle to rescue an element of choice from the pressure of circumstance.” Henry Kissinger, White House Years
“History knows no resting places and no plateaus.” Henry Kissinger, White House Years
“For centuries, the Middle Kingdom had assured its security by playing off distant barbarians against immediate neighbors. Deeply worried about Soviet expansionism, Mao adopted the same strategy in his opening to the United States.” Henry Kissinger, Diplomacy
“For other nations Utopia is a blessed past never to be recovered; for Americans it is no farther than the intensity of their commitment.” Henry Kissinger, White House Years
“Power without legitimacy tempts tests of strength; legitimacy without power tempts empty posturing.” Henry Kissinger, Diplomacy
“Most high officials leave office with the perceptions and insights with which they entered; they learn how to make decisions but not what decisions to make.” Henry Kissinger, White House Years
“Policy is the art of the possible, the science of the relative.” Henry Kissinger, Diplomacy

Related topics

power security policy imperialism choice strength peace action flexibility commitment legitimacy recovery war leadership intentions science wisdom politics trust government

Related sources

On China (3)
Diplomacy (13)
White House Years (10)