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Henry Kissinger, Secretary of State during the Nixon administration, sculpted his statesmanship from the realistic ideals of Prince Klemens von Metternich, who served as the Minister of Austrian Affairs nearly 160 years earlier. Although Kissinger has denied fashioning his ideas after Metternich, he believed the following to be true: legitimacy is one of the most important factors regarding revolution and war, and that disorder is far worse than injustice. Revolution, by definition, is a dramatic change in ideas or practices. Kissinger and Metternich both agreed that, in the rare case that revolution was a legitimate idea, pacing was critical. Change needs to be gradual.
A sudden change in either political or social ideas or rulers, they believed, could result in chaos and disorder. This disorder, in turn, can lead to crimes against one another because justice is lacking. Actions are born from chaos and become chaotic themselves. A revolution is, in most cases, born out of fear, whether that fear is legitimate or not. Take the American Revolution, for example.
King George III was over-taxing the colonists. They wanted to be free of British rule so they revolted. This was one of the few legitimate revolutions because it had a direct affect on the people. A new country was founded on the blood of many men, but it is important to remember that a nation can live forever. A revolution, no matter where and when it occurs, will almost always have certain similar outcomes.
A successful revolution, whether legitimate or not, allows new powers to rise and allows for revolutionary chieftains develop. Napoleon is an example of this. He and his aggressive leadership was a product of the French Revolution. As realists, both Kissinger and Metternich understood different motivations for revolutions and war. They believed objectivity is difficult to achieve and that many factors enter a persons decisions. Kissinger also felt that taking an idealistic approach to issues only resulted in disenchantment of the people.
What starts out with good intentions towards hope of changing the world dont always end up that way as was demonstrated by President Wilsons unsuccessful try for democracy in the Muslim Middle East. In a world filled with disorder, order can be achieved by causing fear in the people. Saddam Hussein serves as an extreme example of this. He created order in Iraq by making his countrymen fear him.
Saddam inundated his country with statues and posters of himself everywhere the people looked. His love of himself fueled his greed for power, so much so that his rules were the only rules to be followed and for those who didnt, a huge price was paid. He represented a tyrannical government. Kissinger, as well as Metternich, understood the danger of this. The United States presents another type of order. America is a country that uses order to prove to other superpowers what it, as a nation, is willing to tolerate and what it is willing to do if the line is crossed.
The United States recently proved this in Iraq. The citizens of an ordered country, like the United States, take pride in their country, which in turn leads to a great sense of nationalism. Although there are people who disagree with President Bush, he proved to the world that he stands strong against terrorism. Whether right or wrong, he demonstrated what he was willing to tolerate for this country. Iraq, on the other hand, went into disorder when Saddam left the country. Looting took place, artifacts in museums were destroyed, and random killings have been taking place.
Disorder can cause a lot more damage than injustice can. Injustice is a sign of an imperfect world, but disorder means that justice cannot be achieved. However, there are clearly some exceptions to this thought. Kaplan used Iraq and Iran as examples. He pointed out in his article that he felt great injustice was worse than a little disorder. Because Iraq was so confining, much like a prison, he felt safer in revolutionary Iran than in Iraq.
Others may argue that order is the cause of disorder in the world. They believe revolutions can be the result of people feeling there is too much order. Others say the problems with the world, over the course of history and today, are that there are countries like the United States who are so ordered that it can lead to a countrys sense of superiority. A country may believe so much in their own order and what this represents they start believing other countries and cultures should behave as they do. This causes countries like Iraq as well as other Middle Eastern countries to strongly dislike like the United States. Kissinger and Metternich both molded their statesmanship around the ideas of realism.
Although Metternich came almost 160 years before Kissinger, they shared many of the same beliefs. They understood the importance of legitimacy in revolution and war and that it is better, but still not good, for a nation to be unjust than disordered. Countries like America have tried to bring order to places like Iraq, the Middle East, and Vietnam in hopes that someday, all of the world can show signs of order. They also understood that although public opinion may sway against their actions, it is more important to do what is right for the country despite what the opposition thinks.
They tried to find a balance between making other countries fear them, while never showing any signs of fear themselves. Both realists, Kissinger and Metternich, attempted to balance what was just with what was possible and played their cards accordingly. Sources Websites 1. web 2. web 3. web 4.
web 5. web Magazine Articles 1. Newsweek August 11, 2003, pages 44 - 49, The Kissinger files
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Research essay sample on Kissinger And Metternich Revolution And War Disorder
