ABSTRACT
The idea of a national interest is inherently linked to a wider political discourse, itself shaped by competing groups or individuals who claimed to represent the common interest both in and outside the domestic sphere. Hence the diplomatic sphere could not be immune from partisanship, from ideological bias. According to Pufendorf, the values and the identity of a diplomatic community should hinge on the quest for a common interest and the competing states increasingly should recognize the balance of power as a principle essential for conducting foreign politics. Whether such a principle could be constructed solely by rational and non-ideological argument is still open to debate. The developing national states in Europe could not exempt themselves from stating and proving effectively their ability to transcend all the particular interests. Although parliamentary ideology became more consistent in the eighteenth century, like any other ideology, it never provided a satisfactory answer to the perennial question of the public interest.
