The diplomat who marks a century

2023-05-27 10:48:00, Opinione Ditmir Bushati

Today Henry Kissinger turns 100 years old. His journey is unusual. From a Jewish child in Nazi Germany, he rose to become national security adviser to the US President and then Secretary of State. Essentially more European than American, an extraordinary personality, marked by the European tragedy that befell a part of his family, Kissinger discovered from it the deep pessimism of human nature and a conservatism that "prefers injustice to chaos."

Although Kissinger did not return to power after 1977, he remained one of the most famous and respected men in international relations and public life. A sharp pen, author of many books sold in every corner of the world. An oracle consulted by heads of state and powerful people even in this age.

Henry Kissinger combines the academic knowledge forged during his years as a professor at Harvard University with the wealth of experience as a national security adviser and Secretary of State. Analyzing his activity in practice, it can be said that he belongs to the school of realism in foreign policy. Today's foreign policy practitioners do not believe in some of his methods, while theorists criticize them.

Although he has been criticized for his "fascination with power", his latest book "Leadership: Six Studies in World Strategy" is the best evidence of the weight of the individual in politics. Kissinger identifies courage, strength of character and knowledge of history as the most important qualities for a statesmanlike leader.

For many, Kissinger is the personification of diplomatic talent; political intuition to go towards peace at any price; intelligence to distinguish the detail from the essential and to move from the particular to the general; wit and curiosity that always awakens. His book "The Age of Artificial Intelligence" of 2021 is a guide to the challenges the world is facing as a result of technological developments.

The opening of the USA to China, the reduction of tensions with the Soviet Union, the end of the war in Vietnam, the Arab-Israeli armistice of 1973, the innovation that brought "flying diplomacy", are some major achievements for American foreign policy, which are devised by him. Kissinger is the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973, for negotiating the end of the war in Vietnam.

To others, Kissinger's actions reveal a callous indifference to human life, human rights and democracy. Renowned historian Niall Ferguson, who has also written a biography of Henry Kissinger, invites critics to show how alternative policies or decision-making would have produced better results than Kissinger's. According to Ferguson, “arguments that focus on the loss of life in countries not as strategically important to the US as Argentina, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Chile, Cyprus, and East Timor should be tested against the question: whether taking other actions would affect US relations with strategically important countries such as the Soviet Union, China, and the great powers of Western Europe?"

Në librin e tij të kujtimeve “Diplomacia”, të vitit 1994, Kissinger argumentoi se në një sistem ndërkombëtar të dominuar nga pesë ose gjashtë fuqi të mëdha, rendi ndërkombëtar mund të mbahet vetëm nga një pajtim i interesave të ndryshme kombëtare, me një pranim të legjitimitetit të vlerave të kundërta. Jeta dhe veprimtaria e Henry Kissinger përkon me shekullin e fuqisë amerikane. Pavarësisht autoritetit të padiskutueshëm të SHBA-ve në botë, në intervistën e fundit për “The Economist”, Kissinger shfaqet sërish mishërues i teorisë së balancës së fuqive, duke i mëshuar idesë së krijimit të një rendi të ri botëror mes SHBA-ve, Europës, Kinës dhe Indisë, për të shmangur kësisoj katastrofën e një Lufte të III-të Botërore. Është e vështirë të parashikohet se si do të formësohet shekulli i XXI, por trashëgimia e çmuar e Henry Kissingerit, padyshim do të jetë përherë e vlefshme./ CNA.al