Henry Kissinger's Philosophy of International Relations

Diplomacy & Statecraft

Volumn 2, Issue 1, 1991, Pages 103-129

  Weitz, Richard ^a  

^a HARVARD UNIVERSITY   (United States)

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EID: 0347270514     PISSN: 09592296     EISSN: 1557301X     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/09592299108405817     Document Type: Article

References (218)

1. Henry A. Kissinger, ‘Peace, Legitimacy, and the Equilibrium’ (Ph.D. thesis, Harvard University, 1954), pp. 1-2;
2. Henry A. Kissinger, A World Restored (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, Sentry Edition, 1957), p. 1.
3. In his doctoral thesis Kissinger once listed a third requirement in addition to ‘a legitimizing principle’ and ‘a relative equilibrium of power’: ‘a commensurability (not identity) of the domestic legitimization of the member states’ (‘Peace, Legitimacy, and the Equilibrium’, p. 8).
4. World Restored, pp.1,143; quote from p. 1.
5. Kissinger may have recalled the USSR's rapprochement with Nazi Germany in 1939.
6. World Restored, pp. 2–3, 138–9, 172, 180.
7. Kissinger indicated that this same pattern occurs within political systems as well (Henry A. Kissinger, ‘The Conservative Dilemma: The Political Thought of Metternich’ The American Political Science Review (Dec. 1954), p. 17;
8. Henry A. Kissinger, ‘The White Revolutionary: Reflections on Bismarck’, Daedalus (Summer 1968), p. 888-9.)
9. Henry A. Kissinger, Nuclear Weapons and Foreign Policy (New York: Harper … Brothers, 1957), p. 317; emphasis added.
10. Henry A. Kissinger, ‘Classical Diplomacy: The Congress of Vienna’, in John G. Stoessinger and Alan F. Westin (eds.), Power and Order: Six Cases in World Politics (New York: Harcourt, Brace, and World, 1964), p. 1;
11. Nuclear Weapons, p. 318;
12. World Restored, pp. 145, 180, 182;
13. quote from Nuclear Weapons, p. 318.
14. World Restored, p. 315.
15. ‘White Revolutionary’, pp. 899–900.
16. World Restored, pp. 146-147.
17. Ibid., p. 318.
18. Henry A. Kissinger, ‘Fuller Explanation’, New York Times Book Review (12 Feb. 1967), p. 3.
19. World Restored, pp. 317-318.
20. Henry A. Kissinger, ‘Force and Diplomacy in a Nuclear Age’, Foreign Affairs, Vol. 34, No. 3 (April 1956), p. 358;
21. ‘Peace, Legitimacy, and the Equilibrium’, p. 1;
22. World Restored, pp. 1-2, 318.
23. His undergraduate thesis at Harvard, which explored among other things the philosophies of history of Oswald Spengler, Arnold Toynbee and Immanuel Kant, clearly showed that Kissinger did not believe in pure determinism (Henry Alfred Kissinger, ‘The Meaning of History: Reflections on Spengler, Toynbee, and Kant’, B.A. Honors thesis, 1951).
24. ‘Classical Diplomacy’, p. 29;
25. World Restored, p. 325.
26. World Restored, p. 8.
27. ‘Peace, Legitimacy, and the Equilibrium’, p. i.
28. See also: World Restored, pp. 330-2.
29. In some places Kissinger stressed the constraints circumscribing Metternich's options; in other instances he castigated the Austrian statesman for his ‘smug self-satisfaction’ and ‘bitter-sweet resignation’ (See for example: ‘Classical Diplomacy’, pp. 28-30;
30. World Restored, pp. 82, 174, 209, 213, 321-3;
31. quotes from World Restored, p. 322).
32. Henry A. Kissinger, ‘Domestic Structure and Foreign Policy’, reprinted in American Foreign Policy, edited by Henry A. Kissinger, third edition (New York: W. W. Norton, 1977), pp. 14,18;
33. Nuclear Weapons, pp. 189,431,436;
34. Henry A. Kissinger, ‘Reflections on American Diplomacy’, Foreign Affairs, Vol. 35, No. 1 (Oct. 1956), p. 38;
35. Henry A. Kissinger, ‘Reflections on Cuba’, The Reporter (22 Nov. 1961), p. 24.
36. Troubled Partnership, p. 64;
37. ‘White Revolutionary’, pp. 890, 921.
38. ‘Domestic Structure and Foreign Policy’, pp. 46-8;
39. ‘Fuller Explanation’, p. 3;
40. World Restored, pp. 187, 316-7;
41. quote from ‘Domestic Structure and Foreign Policy’, pp. 47-8.
42. World Restored, p. 213.
43. ‘Classical Diplomacy’, pp. 29-30;
44. Troubled Partnership, p. 64;
45. World Restored, pp. 254, 325–6, 330;
46. quote from Troubled Partnership, p. 64.
47. In A World Restored Kissinger commented that ‘it is not sufficient to judge the statesman by his conceptions alone, for unlike the philosopher he must implement his vision’ (p. 326).
48. He even quoted Bismarck to the effect that ‘policy is the art of the possible, the science of the relative’ (Henry A. Kissinger, ‘The Unsolved Problems of European Defense’, Foreign Affairs, Vol. 40, No. 4 (July 1962), p. 538).
49. ‘Domestic Structure and Foreign Policy’, pp. 27,29,45;
50. World Restored, pp. 74, 82, 249–50, 324;
51. quote from World Restored, p. 74.
52. ‘Domestic Structure and Foreign Policy’, pp. 13-4; quote from p. 14.
53. World Restored, p. 326.
54. ‘Classical Diplomacy’, pp. 31-2;
55. Nuclear Weapons, p. 140;
56. World Restored, p. 328.
57. Kissinger argued that this presented more of a problem in revolutionary times than when states possessed similar institutions and values (‘Reflections on American Diplomacy’, p. 38).
58. Troubled Partnership, p. 3;
59. World Restored, pp. 34,124,183,186-7, 221,276, 323, 329; quote from p. 329.
60. World Restored, pp. 329–30.
61. As Stanley Hoffmann observes, Kissinger's conclusion implicitly faults American statesmen, who normally assume the role of liberal reformers whenever they participate in international politics (Stanley Hoffmann, Primacy or World Order (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1978), p. 35).
62. Henry A. Kissinger, The Necessity for Choice (Garden City, New York: Doubleday, Anchor Books, 1962), pp. 264,348;
63. Henry A. Kissinger, ‘The New Cult of Neutralism’, The Reporter (24 Nov. 1960), pp. 27-9;
64. Henry A. Kissinger, ‘Nuclear Testing and the Problem of Peace’, Foreign Affairs, Vol. 37, No. 1 (Oct. 1958), p. 8;
65. quote from Necessity for Choice, p. 264.
66. Henry A. Kissinger, ‘Coalition Diplomacy in a Nuclear Age’, Foreign Affairs, Vol. 42, No. 4 (July 1964), p. 539;
67. ‘Domestic Structure and Foreign Policy’, pp. 20–4, 29;
68. Necessity for Choice, pp. 356-7;
69. Nuclear Weapons, pp. 431-3;
70. World Restored, pp. 210,326-7;
71. quote from Nuclear Weapons, p. 432.
72. Henry A. Kissinger, ‘Central Issues of American Foreign Policy’, in Agenda for the Nation (Washington, DC: Brookings Institution, 1968), reprinted in American Foreign Policy, edited by Henry A. Kissinger, third edition (New York: W. W. Norton, 1977), p. 55.
73. World Restored, p. 320.
74. Ibid., p. 5.
75. Nuclear Weapons, p. 191.
76. Philip Windsor, ‘Henry Kissinger's Scholarly Contribution’, British Journal of international Studies, No. 1 (April 1975), p. 30.
77. World Restored, p. 312.
78. ‘White Revolutionary’, p. 909.
79. Necessity for Choice, pp. 214-6;
80. Henry A. Kissinger, ‘The Search for Stability’, Foreign Affairs, Vol. 37, No. 4 (July 1959), pp. 558-9;
81. quote from Necessity for Choice, p. 216.
82. ‘White Revolutionary’, p.910.
83. ‘Classical Diplomacy’, p. 12.
84. ‘Reflections on American Diplomacy’, p, 42.
85. ‘Coalition Diplomacy’, pp. 531-2;
86. Henry A. Kissinger, ed., Problems of National Strategy: A Book of Readings (New York: Frederick A. Praeger, 1965), pp. 4–6.
87. Nuclear Weapons, pp. 9-10.
88. ‘Central Issues’, pp. 59-62;
89. ‘Force and Diplomacy’, pp. 349, 352-4;
90. Nuclear Weapons, pp. 3,12;
91. Troubled Partnership, p. 18.
92. World Restored, p. 326.
93. ‘Peace, Legitimacy, and the Equilibrium’, p. 2.
94. See for example: World Restored, pp. 319, 326.
95. ‘Peace, Legitimacy, and the Equilibrium’, p. ii.
96. World Restored, p. 148.
97. ‘Central Issues’, p. 63;
98. ‘Force and Diplomacy’, pp. 351-2;
99. Necessity for Choice, p. 176;
100. Nuclear Weapons, pp. 4–5, 40-2, 49–51, 130-1, 203–5, 226.
101. Necessity for Choice, p. 176;
102. Nuclear Weapons, pp. 204-5;
103. Troubled Partnership, p. 18.
104. Henry A. Kissinger, ‘The Limitations of Diplomacy’, The New Republic (9 May 1955), p. 8;
105. Nuclear Weapons, pp. 317-8;
106. quote from ‘Limitations of Diplomacy’, p. 8.
107. Henry A. Kissinger, ‘For an Atlantic Confederacy’, The Reporter (2 Feb. 1961), p. 17;
108. Henry A. Kissinger, ‘Military Policy and Defense of the “Grey Areas”’, Foreign Affairs, Vol. 33. No. 3 (April 1955), pp. 416-28;
109. Nuclear Weapons, pp. 10–11, 30, 87, 96, 125–6, 128–36, 144;
110. Necessity for Choice, pp. 110-12;
111. ‘Search for Stability’, p. 546.
112. ‘Force and Diplomacy’, pp. 357, 359, 361;
113. Necessity for Choice, p. 64;
114. Nuclear Weapons, pp. 139-41,143-5;
115. quote from Nuclear Weapons, p.141.
116. Necessity for Choice, pp. 180–82, 354-9;
117. Nuclear Weapons, pp.4, 406-7;
118. Henry A. Kissinger, ‘The Policymaker and the Intellectual’, The Reporter (5 March 1959), pp. 30-3;
119. ‘Reflections on American Diplomacy’, pp. 40, 41;
120. Troubled Partnership, p. 233;
121. World Restored, p.107;
122. quote from Necessity for Choice, p.357.
123. ‘Central Issues’, pp. 92-6;
124. Nuclear Weapons, pp. 427-8;
125. ‘Reflections on American Diplomacy’, pp. 41-2;
126. Troubled Partnership, pp.94-5.
127. ‘Central Issues’, pp. 91-2;
128. Nuclear Weapons, p. 405;
129. Necessity for Choice, pp. 358, 364;
130. Problems of National Strategy, pp. 9-10.
131. ‘Domestic Structure and Foreign Policy’, pp. 30-2;
132. Nuclear Weapons, pp.433-4;
133. Necessity for Choice, pp. 353-4, 366-8;
134. ‘Policymaker and Intellectual’, p.35.
135. Nuclear Weapons, pp. 316, 322, 360; quote from p. 360.
136. ‘Domestic Structure and Foreign Policy’, pp. 34-6, 38;
137. Necessity for Choice, pp. 153-4, 178-9;
138. Nuclear Weapons, pp. 6, 142-3, 323, 325-7, 332-4, 336, 350-51, 386-7;
139. ‘Reflections on American Diplomacy’, p. 45;
140. Troubled Partnership, 194-6;
141. quote from Troubled Partnership, p. 194.
142. ‘Domestic Structure and Foreign Policy’, pp. 36-7;
143. ‘Nuclear Testing and Peace’, p. 7;
144. Troubled Partnership, pp. 192-4.
145. ‘Domestic Structure and Foreign Policy’, pp. 37-8;
146. Nuclear Weapons, pp.16, 111, 320, 334, 335, 343, 346, 352-6;
147. Troubled Partnership, pp.189-201;
148. quotes from Nuclear Weapons, pp.16,335.
149. Nuclear Weapons, pp. 11, 321–3, 327–8, 330–1, 333, 335–6, 338–40, 434-5;
150. ‘Reflections on American Diplomacy’, pp.39-40, 55;
151. Troubled Partnership, pp. 195-6;
152. quote from Nuclear Weapons, pp. 434–5.
153. Nuclear Weapons and Foreign Policy, pp. 11;
154. Necessity for Choice, pp.179,187-98, 210;
155. ‘Reflections on Cuba’, p. 23;
156. Troubled Partnership, pp. 191-2, 201.
157. Kissinger appreciated Bismarck's assertion that it did not matter who ruled a country because, as Kissinger put it, ‘The interests of states provided objective imperatives transcending individual preferences’(‘White Revolutionary’, pp. 907,916, 918).
158. Kissinger. ‘Domestic Structure and Foreign Policy’, pp. 24-5;
159. Necessity for Choice, pp. 198–209, 298–319.
160. Henry A. Kissinger, ‘American Policy and Preventive War’, The Yale Review, Vol. 44, No. 3 (March 1955), p. 327;
161. Necessity for Choice, pp.183-186.
162. ‘Preventive War’, pp. 323, 329;
163. ‘Limitations of Diplomacy’, p. 8;
164. Necessity for Choice, pp. 186, 207, 209, 212-4;
165. Nuclear Weapons, pp. 6, 205-6, 319-20, 334-5, 337-9, 357-61, 387, 429-31;
166. ‘Reflections on American Diplomacy’, pp. 46-7.
167. ‘Preventive War’, p. 339;
168. ‘Military Policy and the “Grey Areas”’, pp.425-6;
169. Nuclear Weapons, pp. 6,148;
170. quote from Nuclear Weapons, p.148.
171. Necessity for Choice, pp. 209-10.
172. Troubled Partnership, pp. 199-200.
173. World Restored, p. 247.
174. ‘[Bismarck] proposed to manipulate the commitments of the other powers so that Prussia would always be closer to any of the contending parties than they were to each other. If Prussia managed to create a minimum of options for itself, it would be able to utilize its artificial isolation to sell its cooperation to the highest bidder.’ (‘White Revolutionary’, pp. 912–13).
175. Troubled Partnership, p. 60.
176. ‘Central Issues’, pp. 67-72;
177. ‘Coalition Diplomacy’, p. 539;
178. Henry A. Kissinger, ‘NATO: Evolution or Decline’, in James R. Roach, ed., The United States and the Atlantic Community (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1967), p.9;
179. Nuclear Weapons, pp. 51, 246-7, 250-4;
180. Henry A. Kissinger, ‘Strains on the Alliance’, Foreign Affairs, Vol. 41, No. 2 (Jan. 1963), p. 263;
181. Troubled Partnership, pp. 4–10.
182. ‘Central Issues’, pp. 72-7;
183. ‘Coalition Diplomacy’, pp. 539-45;
184. ‘Evolution or Decline’, pp. 14-17;
185. ‘For an Atlantic Confederacy’, pp. 16, 19-20;
186. Necessity for Choice, p. 103;
187. ‘Statement of Dr. Henry A. Kissinger’, United States Policy Toward Europe (And Related Matters), Committee on Foreign Relations, US Senate, Eighty-Ninth Congress (Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 1966), pp.133–5, 141, 154, 155;
188. Troubled Partnership, pp. 21, 23–7, 40–42, 157-9,165-6, 230–32, 238–9, 241.
189. ‘Evolution or Decline’, p.15.
190. Stephen R. Graubard, Kissinger: Portrait of a Mind (New York: W. W. Norton, 1974), p. 127.
191. Necessity for Choice, pp. 132-133; quote from p. 133.
192. Kissinger may have had in mind something like the nineteenth-century ‘Metternich system’ outlined in ‘White Revolutionary’, pp. 900-1.
193. Henry A. Kissinger, ‘The Price of German Unity’, The Reporter (22 April 1965), pp. 12-17;
194. Necessity for Choice, pp. 133–53, 164-5;
195. ‘Search for Stability’, pp. 538-43;
196. ‘Statement of Dr. Kissinger’, pp. 143, 150, 160–61, 172, 179;
197. Troubled Partnership, pp. 65-75,204-22.
198. ‘Central Issues’, pp. 80, 84;
199. ‘Domestic Structure and Foreign Policy’, pp.40-3;
200. ‘Force and Diplomacy’, pp. 364-5;
201. Necessity for Choice, pp.340-1, 344
202. ‘New Cult of Neutralism’, p. 27;
203. Nuclear Weapons, pp.255, 261–3.
204. ‘Central Issues’, pp. 81-5;
205. ‘Coalition Diplomacy’, pp. 529-30;
206. ‘Domestic Structure and Foreign Policy’, pp. 39-43;
207. Necessity for Choice, pp.299, 319-51;
208. ‘New Cult of Neutralism’, pp. 26-9;
209. Nuclear Weapons, pp.258-67;
210. Problems of National Strategy, pp. 166-7;
211. ‘Reflections on American Diplomacy’, pp. 52-3.
212. ‘Central Issues’, pp. 52-62;
213. ‘Domestic Structure and Foreign Policy’, pp.14-16;
214. Necessity for Choice, pp. 177-8;
215. Nuclear Weapons, pp.5-6.
216. ‘Statement by Dr. Kissinger’, p. 146; see also: p. 168.
217. Nuclear Weapons, p. 334.
218. ‘Central Issues of American Foreign Policy’, p. 89.