realpolitik

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Most presidential administrations have claimed to operate according to a foreign policy doctrine of some kind: for instance, neoconservatism, liberal internationalism, isolationism, or realpolitik.

From Salon • Mar. 14, 2026

Yesterday’s north star of global financial harmony has yielded to today’s realpolitik.

From Barron's • Mar. 4, 2026

Legitimate arguments could be made for rebooting U.S.–Saudi relations, on various realpolitik grounds.

From Slate • Nov. 20, 2025

He invited controversy, however, not by advocating a more amoral, realpolitik foreign policy but by delivering a finger-wagging, highly moralistic lecture about, among other things, how our allies are insufficiently liberal about free expression.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 17, 2025

But beneath the veneer of civility and kultur lurk the cold calculations of realpolitik.

From The Belgian Curtain Europe after Communism by Vaknin, Samuel