“America has no permanent friends or enemies, only interests.”
–Henry Kissinger
It was today, in 1947, when Pakistan officially established diplomatic relations with the United States of America. In hindsight, it has been a topsy-turvy affair. It is often argued that, in realist politics, permanent friends or enemies do not exist. Only interests do. The global political game is ever-evolving, and players need to adjust their positions accordingly. Similarity of culture, political systems, or even shared history are not factors potent enough to steer a nation-state through the international landscape. Cooperation and as well as antagonism can emerge in the most unlikely of places, given the shift in national interests.
A pessimistic argument perhaps, but it helps one understand how international relations function. In the words of Hans Morgenthau, a renowned political theorist, “International politics, like all politics, is a struggle for power.”