ABSTRACT
Realpolitik sees states assessing every situation in accordance with its ultimate implications for state security, rather than with idealistic concerns that might place the state at risk politically or militarily. Humanitarian initiatives, of "doing the right thing" in the face of evil, have until not been a satisfactory reason for states breaking away from a realpolitik approach to international relations, particularly if as a result they might find themselves involved in physical confrontation with other states. The principle of state sovereignty is the key to understanding how realpolitik works. Individual states almost always determine the degree to which they will involve themselves in the affairs of other states along realpolitik lines. The most significant proposal to attempt to cut through the realpolitik-sovereignty conundrum has been the initiative known as The Responsibility to Protect (R2P). R2P's focus embodies the proposal that all states should attempt to prevent and stop four crimes: genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and ethnic cleansing.
