Realpolitik: A History

by John Bew

Overview

Since its coinage in mid-19th century Germany, Realpolitik has proven both elusive and protean. To some, it represents the best approach to meaningful change and political stability in a world buffeted by uncertainty and rapid transformation. To others, it encapsulates an attitude of cynicism and cold calculation, a transparent and self-justifying policy exercised by dominant nations over weaker. Remolded across generations and repurposed to its political and ideological moment, Realpolitik remains a touchstone for discussion about statecraft and diplomacy. It is a freighted concept.

Historian John Bew explores the genesis of Realpolitik, tracing its longstanding and enduring relevance in political and foreign policy debates. Bew's book uncovers the context that gave birth to Realpolitik-that of the fervor of radical change in 1848 in Europe. He explains its application in the conduct of foreign policy from the days of Bismarck onward. Lastly, he illuminates its translation from German into English, one that reveals the uniquely Anglo-American version of realpolitik-small "r"-being practiced today, a modern iteration that attempts to reconcile idealism with the pursuit of national interests.

Lively, encyclopedic, and utterly original, Realpolitik: A History illuminates the life and times of a term that has shaped and will continue to shape international relations.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780199331932
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	12/01/2015
Pages:	408
Sales rank:	540,392
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.80(d)

About the Author

John Bew teaches history and foreign policy at the War Studies Department at King's College London. Previously he was a Lecturer in Modern British History at Cambridge. In 2013 he was named to the Kissinger Chair at the John W. Kluge Center at the Library of Congress. He is the author for four books, most recently Castlereagh: A Life.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Part I: Real Realpolitik
1. The origins of Realpolitik
2. Foundations of Realpolitik
3. Realpolitik and Bismarck: a fatal compromise?
4. Realpolitik after Rochau

Part II: Anti-realpolitik and the Anglo-American Worldview
5. The English Discovery of Realpolitik
6. American Realpolitik
7. The Coming Peace and the Eradication of Realpolitik

Part III: Inter-war Realpolitik
8. The Ingestion of Realpolitik
9. Germany and the New Realpolitik
10. Machiavelli's Return? Realpolitik, Fascism and Appeasement

Part IV: The Americanisation of Realpolitik
11. America's Awakening: Geopolitics and the Ethics of American Statecraft
12. Realpolitik through the Back Door? The Role of the Emigrés
13. Bismarckism and Anti-Bismarckism

Part V: Practical Realpolitik
14. Reluctant Realpolitik in the Cold War Era
15. Realpolitik in the Nixon-Carter Era
16. Wither Realpolitik? The End of the Cold War and Beyond

Conclusion: Why we need a Renaissance of Realpolitik

Editorial Reviews

"By taking us back to the origins of Realpolitik John Bew shows how a long-established strategic concept doesn't mean what we thought it meant, and in the process throws new light on the history of thinking about international affairs."
—Sir Lawrence Freedman, Emeritus Professor of War Studies, King's College London, author of Strategy: A History

From the Publisher