Kissinger's Philosophy of Diplomacy

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Kissinger: I started thinking about this very early on in my life. The conventional answer at the end of World War II was to prevent aggressors from imposing their will early enough so that they could not achieve military dominance. We can all take credit for avoiding nuclear war for 75 years. But it was never explicitly negotiated that way. So Ed, the core of Kissinger philosophy, if there is one, is that you have to think about great powers' interests and you have to use diplomacy effectively as a means of avoiding war.

Henry Kissinger was one of the most influential and controversial diplomats of the 20th century. He was National Security Advisor and Secretary of State to two American presidents. Now, with China’s growing influence and the prospect of powerful technology that could change the nature of war, his ideas on great power conflict are more relevant than ever. On the eve of his 100th birthday, The Economist spent over eight hours in conversation with Mr Kissinger. In this podcast special, we focus on three elements of the wide-ranging discussion: the role of China, AI and weak American leadership.

Zanny Minton Beddoes hosts with Edward Carr. The full transcript of the conversation with Mr Kissinger is available online.

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