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The tension between principle and pragmatism in international relations*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 October 2009

Inis L. Claude Jr
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Extract

People who are seriously concerned with international relations—whether as scholars, officials, or interested citizens—generally purport to prefer that states should act in accordance with principle in their dealings with each other. This preference is usually stated wistfully, or even plaintively, as an ideal that is unfortunately far from any prospect of realization. The proposition is that states do not, but certainly should, consistently engage in principled behaviour in the international setting.

Type
Research Article
Information
Review of International Studies , Volume 19 , Issue 3 , July 1993 , pp. 215 - 226
Copyright
Copyright © British International Studies Association 1993

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