Quotes About Diplomacy

England and America should scrap cricket and baseball and come up with a new game that they both can play. Like baseball, for example.

It requires the most active cooperation of at least several advanced countries, among which we cannot classify Russia.

Basic Soviet strategy in foreign affairs, under which the Comintern and the Foreign Commissariat operated as two arms of a dual policy, one working to overthrow capitalist governments while the other tried to conduct business with them, was essentially Lenin's creation, as was the notion of a Soviet diplomacy designed to reduce the insecurity of the revolutionary state by aggravating the discords between its enemies.

five days later, the Politburo heard his report on the situation in the Caucasus and decided "to pursue toward Georgia, Armenia, Turkey, and Persia a maximally conciliatory policy, that is, aimed primarily at avoiding war."[381]

Those are things people say, Tyler. Talking about multilateralism and diplomacy is like saying 'I love you'—it serves to facilitate the fucking.

Whenever you can, bury the hatchet with an enemy, and make a point of putting him in your service.

Lincoln replied, "do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?" KEYS TO POWER It is natural to want to employ your friends when you find yourself in times of need.

What you want in warfare is room to maneuver. Tight corners spell death. Having enemies gives you options. You can play them off against each other, make one a friend as a way of attacking the other, on and on.

You must be particularly careful to never make people feel stupid in your presence.

Worship Athena, not Ares.

If you are trying to destroy an enemy who has hurt you, far better to keep him off-guard by feigning friendliness than showing your anger.

Follow David's example: say or do something that can be read in more than one way, that may be superficially polite but that could also indicate a slight coolness on your part or be seen as a subtle insult. A friend may wonder but will let it pass. The secret enemy, though, will react with anger.

Place your iron hand inside a velvet glove.

Nunca critiques abiertamente a la gente; esto la hará sentirse insegura, y se resistirá al cambio. Siembra ideas, insinúa sugerencias.

Once you step into a fight that is not of your own choosing, you lose all initiative. The combatants' interests become your interests; you become their tool. Learn to control yourself, to restrain your natural tendency to take sides and join the fight. Be friendly and charming to each of the combatants, then step back as they collide. With every battle they grow weaker, while you grow stronger with every battle you avoid.

CONCEAL YOUR INTENTIONS

Desperate to win the French over to the American cause and understanding their nature quite well, he had transformed himself into what they had wanted to see in him—the American version of the French spirit and way of life. He was appealing to their notorious narcissism.

Napoleón: cubrir tu mano de hierro con un guante de terciopelo.

Be extra careful in the work environment with those who like to maintain their position through charm and being political, rather than by getting things done.

Woe unto the statesman," he said, "who makes war without a reason that will still be valid when the war is over!

The ability to measure people and to know who you're dealing with is the most important skill of all in gathering and conserving power. Without it you are blind: Not only will you offend the wrong people, you will choose the wrong types to work on, and will think you are flattering people when you are actually insulting them.

The Seesaw. Up and down and up and down go the arguers, getting nowhere fast. Get off the seesaw and show them your meaning without kicking or pushing. Leave them at the top and let gravity bring them gently to the ground.

Once you step into a fight that is not of your own choosing, you lose all initiative. The combatants' interests becomes your interests; you become their tool. Learn to control yourself, to restrain your natural tendency to take sides and join the fight. Be friendly and charming to each of the combatants, then step back as they collide. With every battle they grow weaker, while you grow stronger with every battle you avoid.

The formation of proper alliances was in some ways a more important art than that of warfare itself, and the statesmen adept at this art were more powerful than military leaders.