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A review by jahangeer
Diplomacy by Henry Kissinger
5.0
A great book, a very dense, meticulous, vast and foresighted book, worth giving long hours to it..
This is my first book of Henry Kissinger, after reading this I will surely be reading his other books specially The world order which is published very recently.
Diplomacy is written with great wit, there is intellectual clarity in the author, as himself being the Diplomat of USA, worked as a secret of state, and also as a National security advisor, therefore the author thinks and approach the politics with great vision and analysis things in depth rather then a mare looking at the events.
The Diplomacy is meticulous in its contents, the books covers almost everything from the 17th century up until the very end of the cold war in 20th century, the book tell us how the world that now we live in is forged this way by the political events and the Diplomacy of the statesman, how the formation of Political orders and then the world orders in recently been shaken by different expansionists and imperialist leaders. It is a sweeping history of political events and the role of the statesman in forming the next order to replace the previous one in the event of its expulsion.
The book start with the Time of Richelieu's France in the middle 17th century, it talks about how the medieval European dream of Universalism have never succeeded, hitherto the European wanted to have a universal empire and universal church, but the arrival of Richelieu in the French command led the Europe from Universalism to the equilibrium, he brought the Raison de'tat ( National interest) politics in France first, and this policy if pursuing national interest would justify whatever means to pursue it, then the book talk about the French revolution the Napoleon Bonaparte, French h dominance under him, British policy was of mainly from the principle of Palmerson/Disraeli.
European Diplomacy is mainly controlled and drvied by three actors historically the French(Richelieu, Napoleon), Prussia which is now Germany (Otto wan Bismarck, it was he who unified the different German Confederates, and formed a mighty strong unified German in the 19th century), lastly British ( Palmerson/Disraeli), beside this the role of the Russian and Austrian isn't negligible either, they have also contributed vastly in various European diplomatic events.
The politics in Europe from the times of Richelieu was that of National interest, and then Bismarck introduced Realpolitik (Which means the same thing as Raison de'tat), in this tussle of dominance grew the concept of balance of power, which was vital to the survival of the weaker as well as, so the British policy in those days was to wait for anyone to disturb the balance so then they act against the agrresor, complying always with the weaker against the strong so the balance of power maintains and no single country dominate the Europe, and hence threatened everyone, whereas the Bismarck, the German statesman, his policy was more of partnership to join with as many as partners and stop the danger from arising by overlapping policies and partnership with the rivals, it was the brilliance of Bismarck that he led Germans to great power, his capabilities as a leaders were matchless, after he was dismissed from the office in 1890s it was certain that no one can handle the Germany with his great power he will look for adventures under others leaders and so was happened as seen in the 2 world wars.
In the policies of Richelieu, and in the treaty of Westphalia Europe seen the peace for the longest Duration in its entire history, for about 150 years from 1648 to Napoleon times in the late 18th century, After the defeat of Napoleon in Waterloo, European nation's sits together again in 1814 and established a treaty of Vienna, which saw the peace for almost a century except few battles such as Crimean war, then in 1914 we all know about the great casualties of the first world war which again destroyed the peace of Europe, the war ended in 1918, and the treaties of Versailles was signed, and the league of nations formed. German were sanctioned, there powers were curbed, they were heavily fined and were in complete disaster and economic collapse, so then in 1930s it was the Streseman, the German Diplomat who worked very hard to revive Germany, and open the way for American aids and loans to German to revive the country, then the rise of Hitler and his coming in the power in 1933 first as a chancellor then as a dictator, then the book covers the second world war, and the events afterwards, the order of the world after the second world war, it talks about the rise of Russia from the WW2, and then the start of the cold war with Russian, and American containment policies for the spread of communism, it also talks about the Vietnam war, Cuban missile threats, the building up of the Berlin Wall in 1961 by the Russian, Chinese civil war, the Russian leaders post Lenin, Stalin, Khurseavic, and then the reformist Mikhail Gorbachev, the end of the cold war, and the collapse of Soviet Union, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and in last it talk about the post cold war world.
A great knowledgeable book, full with lots of historical events, facts and stories
This is my first book of Henry Kissinger, after reading this I will surely be reading his other books specially The world order which is published very recently.
Diplomacy is written with great wit, there is intellectual clarity in the author, as himself being the Diplomat of USA, worked as a secret of state, and also as a National security advisor, therefore the author thinks and approach the politics with great vision and analysis things in depth rather then a mare looking at the events.
The Diplomacy is meticulous in its contents, the books covers almost everything from the 17th century up until the very end of the cold war in 20th century, the book tell us how the world that now we live in is forged this way by the political events and the Diplomacy of the statesman, how the formation of Political orders and then the world orders in recently been shaken by different expansionists and imperialist leaders. It is a sweeping history of political events and the role of the statesman in forming the next order to replace the previous one in the event of its expulsion.
The book start with the Time of Richelieu's France in the middle 17th century, it talks about how the medieval European dream of Universalism have never succeeded, hitherto the European wanted to have a universal empire and universal church, but the arrival of Richelieu in the French command led the Europe from Universalism to the equilibrium, he brought the Raison de'tat ( National interest) politics in France first, and this policy if pursuing national interest would justify whatever means to pursue it, then the book talk about the French revolution the Napoleon Bonaparte, French h dominance under him, British policy was of mainly from the principle of Palmerson/Disraeli.
European Diplomacy is mainly controlled and drvied by three actors historically the French(Richelieu, Napoleon), Prussia which is now Germany (Otto wan Bismarck, it was he who unified the different German Confederates, and formed a mighty strong unified German in the 19th century), lastly British ( Palmerson/Disraeli), beside this the role of the Russian and Austrian isn't negligible either, they have also contributed vastly in various European diplomatic events.
The politics in Europe from the times of Richelieu was that of National interest, and then Bismarck introduced Realpolitik (Which means the same thing as Raison de'tat), in this tussle of dominance grew the concept of balance of power, which was vital to the survival of the weaker as well as, so the British policy in those days was to wait for anyone to disturb the balance so then they act against the agrresor, complying always with the weaker against the strong so the balance of power maintains and no single country dominate the Europe, and hence threatened everyone, whereas the Bismarck, the German statesman, his policy was more of partnership to join with as many as partners and stop the danger from arising by overlapping policies and partnership with the rivals, it was the brilliance of Bismarck that he led Germans to great power, his capabilities as a leaders were matchless, after he was dismissed from the office in 1890s it was certain that no one can handle the Germany with his great power he will look for adventures under others leaders and so was happened as seen in the 2 world wars.
In the policies of Richelieu, and in the treaty of Westphalia Europe seen the peace for the longest Duration in its entire history, for about 150 years from 1648 to Napoleon times in the late 18th century, After the defeat of Napoleon in Waterloo, European nation's sits together again in 1814 and established a treaty of Vienna, which saw the peace for almost a century except few battles such as Crimean war, then in 1914 we all know about the great casualties of the first world war which again destroyed the peace of Europe, the war ended in 1918, and the treaties of Versailles was signed, and the league of nations formed. German were sanctioned, there powers were curbed, they were heavily fined and were in complete disaster and economic collapse, so then in 1930s it was the Streseman, the German Diplomat who worked very hard to revive Germany, and open the way for American aids and loans to German to revive the country, then the rise of Hitler and his coming in the power in 1933 first as a chancellor then as a dictator, then the book covers the second world war, and the events afterwards, the order of the world after the second world war, it talks about the rise of Russia from the WW2, and then the start of the cold war with Russian, and American containment policies for the spread of communism, it also talks about the Vietnam war, Cuban missile threats, the building up of the Berlin Wall in 1961 by the Russian, Chinese civil war, the Russian leaders post Lenin, Stalin, Khurseavic, and then the reformist Mikhail Gorbachev, the end of the cold war, and the collapse of Soviet Union, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and in last it talk about the post cold war world.
A great knowledgeable book, full with lots of historical events, facts and stories