ABSTRACT
Realism involved commitment to a set of propositions about international politics which were essentially extrapolations from the diplomatic history of nineteenth-century Europe. They were propositions which the generation of statesmen in Europe after 1919 either had lost or misunderstood: re-education in the ‘perennials’ was clearly necessary. The catechism was simple. All states sought, or would seek, power, given the opportunity. It was an essential prerequisite for the achievement of any other goals. Today’s enemy could be tomorrow’s ally (n.b., not ‘friend’, for, as Salisbury put it, ‘Great Britain has no permanent friends, only permanent interests’). The use of any means was acceptable (atomic weapons created a dilemma, resolved by silence or metaphysical despair), or at least possible, though only one or two might be appropriate at any single moment. The best operator was the man who possessed ‘traditional wisdom’; and the man who possessed ‘traditional wisdom’ was the best operator.
