The German Doctrine of “Realpolitik” Through the Prism of Modern World Politics

Abstract

The proposed paper examines the problem of updating the German doctrine “Realpolitik” in relation to contemporary world politics. The presentation of the material follows a theoretical and methodological line, associated with the designation of the main approaches to “real politics” that were present in the history of political thought. Secondly, it compares the realistic direction of political science analysis with the normative-value paradigm and a practice-oriented line, associated with an appeal to the current world political agenda and the characteristics of those directions that have political realism as a fundamental principle. When referring to real-world politics, the author concluded that realism is especially relevant in the following areas: reducing the nuclear arsenal and weakening the missile potential, preventing the deployment of strategic offensive weapons and the deployment of armed forces of competing militarypolitical blocs in border areas, the fight against international terrorism, as well as preventing the consequences of the new coronavirus pandemic.