Create the impression of endless willingness to compromise and you almost invite deadlines. That's the challenge we now have in North Korea and have had in North Korea for 10 years. In this sense, diplomacy and foreign policy and other elements of political activity have to be closely linked and have to be understood by the negotiators
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the importance of a strong stance in negotiations to avoid being pressured into compromises that could compromise vital interests.
Henry A. Kissinger's quote reflects on the nature of diplomacy and the intricate balance of power that negotiators must maintain. He suggests that projecting an impression of constant flexibility may inadvertently lead to undue pressure from opposing parties, as seen in the context of North Korea where compromise has often been expected. This underscores the necessity for negotiators to remain firm yet wise, linking various facets of political engagement to effectively address international relations and maintain a nation's integrity.
In practice
During a diplomatic conference on climate change, one might use this quote to emphasize the importance of steadfast commitment to one's goals.
Every civilization that has ever existed has ultimately collapsed. History is a tale of efforts that failed, or aspirations that weren’t realized. So, as a historian, one has to live with a sense of the inevitability of tragedy.
Blessed are the people whose leaders can look destiny in the eye without flinching but also without attempting to play God.
It was a Greek tragedy. Nixon was fulfilling his own nature. Once it started it could not end otherwise.
The absence of alternatives clears the mind marvelously.
If peace is equated simply with the absence of war, it can become abject pacifism that turns the world over to the most ruthless.
What political leaders decide, intelligence services tend to seek to justify.
India is a country that has no direct interests in some areas of global conflict. It has very good relations with countries in conflict or countries facing difficult security situations, and I believe Indian diplomacy is very well received. India is a bridge-builder, an honest broker, and a messenger of peace.
It's not the wickedness of the pagan that breaks my heart. It's the compromise of the Christian that grieves my soul.
Our identities really are a constant negotiation between the story we tell about ourselves and the narrative our societies like to recite.
There is nothing fast or easy about diplomacy. I have no illusions about that.
If when you say 'whiskey' you mean the devil's brew, the poison scourge, the bloody monster that defiles innocence, dethrones reason... then I am certainly against it. But, if when you say 'whiskey' you mean the oil of conversation, the philosophic wine... the drink that enables a man to magnify his joy... then I am certainly for it. This is my stand. I will not retreat from it. I will not compromise.
There can be no compromise between freedom and government controls; to accept 'just a few controls' is to surrender the principle of inalienable individual rights and to substitute for it the principle of the government’s unlimited, arbitrary power, thus delivering oneself into gradual enslavement. As an example of this process, observe the present domestic policy of the United States.
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