Mike Horne’s Reviews > Kissinger: Vol 1: The Idealist, 1923-1968 > Status Update

Whenever peace conceived as the avoidance of war has been the primary objective of a power or a group of powers, the international system has been at the mercy of the most ruthless member of the international community. Whenever the international order has acknowledged that certain principles could not be compromised even for the sake of peace, stability based on an equilibrium of forces was at least conceivable.