Comparing the choices of individuals with foreign diplomacy is specious. It is much harder for countries to have principles than individuals.
replyThe same can be said of boardroom politics and board of directors. Or investment circles such as tech venture capital
replyThey don't have principles.
replyEven "maximize the hegemonic monopolistic power of my claws" can be taken as mindset principles.
replyHaving principles is orthogonal to striving adoption of ethical fair well being for everyone.
Yeah, but they don't really seem to have that either.
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reply"les états n'ont pas d'amis, que des intérêts."
replyStates are very different beasts, unlike human individual which have clear skin borderies as a given, they are able to take parts of each other and assimilate them. Even when they are not in official direct opposition, rampant dirty plots are always going on in the parallel background of any the official sympathy to everyone, be it because even within a state there is a broad variation of contenders.