A Student's Guide to International Relations

The international system—that is, the system in which nation-states recognize the sovereignty of other nation-states, distinguish sharply between peace and war, and deal with one another through ambassadors whose immunity they guarantee

diplomacy, statecraft, foreign affairs, foreign relations.

diplomacy is neither more nor less than the content of the messages it conveys

The lesson here is that any use of force is truly subversive when it is decisive in and of itself, or when it really augurs the use of even greater and more decisive force.

Economic subversion—that is, either positive or negative inducements to specific individuals or groups within the target country—can be highly successful

Such support makes possible a degree of control by one country over another, and makes it proper to speak of such subversives as agents of a foreign power.

For instance, the United States has inspired countless people across the globe to regard the political order in which they live as inferior by comparison, and to aspire for something better

More or less openly, with material and diplomatic means, the United States, the Soviet Union, and many other governments have supported like-minded individuals and groups in foreign countries.

Subversion is most effective when the dissidents believe themselves to be, and are, independent advocates of policies that are appealing in and of themselves rather than mere tools of a foreign power.

one has ever been seduced or subverted without some degree of cooperation