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Definition of "realpolitik" [realpolitik]

  • A usually expansionist national policy having as its sole principle advancement of the national interest. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "realpolitik" in a sentence
  • "The term realpolitik was coined by Prussian Prince Otto von Bismarck, who defined politics as "the art of the possible.""
  • "Stalin, Chamberlain, and Daladier thought they were engaged in realpolitik at the time."
  • "Ultimately, the paradox of realpolitik is that realpolitik assumes and is dependent upon the notion that states are rational actors, and yet the practice of realpolitik tends to erode that very principle."