Is Realpolitik Fundamentally Incompatible with Relational Ethics?

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The tension between realpolitik and relational ethics appears, at first glance, irreconcilable. Realpolitik prioritizes power, survival, and strategic advantage in an anarchic international system. Relational ethics—such as those articulated through Ubuntu—prioritize mutual dignity, interdependence, and accountability. One framework is often described as pragmatic and unsentimental; the other as moral and communitarian.

Yet the question requires analytical precision. Are these paradigms structurally incompatible? Or do they operate at different levels of statecraft, capable of partial integration under certain conditions?

To answer this, we must first clarify the philosophical foundations of each.

1. The Core Logic of Realpolitik

Realpolitik emerged from European statecraft traditions, often associated with figures like Otto von Bismarck and later theorized by thinkers such as Hans Morgenthau. It rests on several premises:

  1. The international system is anarchic (no central authority).

  2. States are primary actors.

  3. Survival is the overriding objective.

  4. Power is both the means and the measure of security.

Institutions such as the United Nations exist, but enforcement depends on powerful states. The veto authority within the United Nations Security Council institutionalizes this hierarchy.

From a realpolitik perspective, ethical claims are secondary to national interest. Cooperation occurs when it aligns with strategic advantage. Alliances form not from trust, but from converging interests.

Realpolitik is not necessarily immoral; it is amoral. It brackets morality in favor of prudence.

2. The Core Logic of Relational Ethics

Relational ethics, particularly as expressed through Ubuntu, asserts that identity and well-being are interdependent. Moral worth emerges through relationships rather than isolated autonomy. Applied to politics, this implies:

  • Accountability for external consequences of action.

  • Shared responsibility in collective challenges.

  • Legitimacy derived from reciprocity, not coercion.

Relational ethics reject the assumption that self-interest is separable from communal interest. Security, prosperity, and dignity are co-constructed.

Where realpolitik sees competition as natural, relational ethics see connection as foundational.

3. Points of Apparent Incompatibility

At first inspection, incompatibility seems obvious in three domains:

A. The Security Dilemma

Realpolitik assumes worst-case intentions. States prepare for threats even when adversaries claim peaceful intent. Deterrence requires accumulation of power.

Relational ethics assume the possibility of trust-building and mutual recognition. If one side constantly prepares for conflict, the relational framework appears undermined.

B. Instrumentalization of Others

Realpolitik treats alliances as instruments. Partnerships are recalibrated when interests shift. Moral commitments are contingent.

Relational ethics demand that partners be treated as ends in themselves. Exploitative arrangements violate dignity.

C. Asymmetry and Hierarchy

Global power structures—within institutions like the International Monetary Fund or the World Bank—reflect weighted influence. Realpolitik defends such asymmetry as stabilizing.

Relational ethics question whether stability without equity is legitimate.

On these grounds, incompatibility appears substantial.

4. The Limits of Pure Realpolitik

However, pure realpolitik encounters structural limits in the contemporary world.

Interdependence

Global supply chains, climate systems, and digital networks make unilateral dominance costly. Even powerful states such as the United States and China remain economically intertwined despite strategic rivalry.

Absolute pursuit of advantage can generate systemic instability that rebounds domestically.

Legitimacy as Power

Power is not only material; it is also reputational. States perceived as irresponsible may face coalition-building against them. Soft power and credibility shape influence.

Even realists acknowledge that excessive coercion produces counterbalancing behavior.

Non-Traditional Threats

Climate change, pandemics, and financial contagion are not deterred by military strength. Cooperative governance becomes rational self-interest.

Thus, realpolitik must adapt or risk self-defeating outcomes.

5. The Possibility of Synthesis

The key insight is that realpolitik governs survival calculations, while relational ethics govern legitimacy and long-term stability. These are not mutually exclusive domains.

A state may:

  • Maintain deterrence capabilities (realpolitik),

  • While embedding crisis communication and arms control frameworks (relational constraint).

It may:

  • Compete economically,

  • While cooperating on climate mitigation.

This synthesis does not eliminate rivalry; it moderates it.

Historical precedents exist. During the Cold War, ideological hostility between the United States and the Soviet Union coexisted with arms control agreements designed to prevent mutual destruction.

Here, relational restraint emerged from strategic prudence.

6. Relational Ethics as Enlightened Self-Interest

One way to reconcile the paradigms is to reinterpret relational ethics not as altruism, but as enlightened self-interest.

If destabilizing a region generates refugee flows, terrorism, or economic disruption, relational accountability becomes strategic foresight.

If climate inaction accelerates disasters that harm domestic economies, global cooperation becomes rational defense.

In this framing, relational ethics do not negate realpolitik; they refine it.

7. Where Incompatibility Persists

Despite possible synthesis, genuine incompatibility remains in certain scenarios:

  • When dominance yields short-term gains despite long-term instability.

  • When domestic political incentives reward aggressive posturing.

  • When ideological narratives dehumanize adversaries.

Relational ethics require recognition of shared dignity. Realpolitik can function without such recognition.

Thus, incompatibility arises when power is pursued without regard for systemic consequences.

8. A Hierarchy of Ethics in Statecraft

Statecraft often operates on layered logics:

  1. Immediate survival (hard security).

  2. Medium-term advantage (economic and technological positioning).

  3. Long-term legitimacy (normative credibility).

Realpolitik dominates level one. Relational ethics shape level three.

If leaders ignore the third layer, they risk undermining the first two. Instability accumulates. Backlash forms. Institutions erode.

Therefore, relational ethics act as a corrective to excess realpolitik.

9. Conclusion: Tension, Not Absolute Incompatibility

Realpolitik and relational ethics originate from different philosophical premises. One begins with anarchy and scarcity; the other with interdependence and dignity. They conflict when power is pursued without accountability.

However, they are not fundamentally irreconcilable. In a deeply interconnected world, prudence increasingly aligns with relational responsibility. States may retain deterrence and competitive strategies while embedding cooperative guardrails.

The decisive factor is whether leaders interpret national interest narrowly (short-term dominance) or expansively (long-term systemic stability).

Realpolitik without relational ethics risks destabilizing the very order it seeks to secure.
Relational ethics without strategic awareness risks vulnerability.

The sustainable path is neither pure dominance nor naïve idealism, but a calibrated fusion—where power is exercised with awareness of interdependence.

Thus, incompatibility is not structural inevitability. It is a matter of emphasis. In an era of shared global risk, the logic of survival itself increasingly points toward relational constraint.

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