Selective Dual Ontology

Henry Alfred Kissinger has long enjoyed the dual role as an IR scholar and as a practitioner of foreign policy. Based on the reality that humans have entered the era of nuclear weapons and modern telecommunications, he has managed to develop a new set of theories that comply with the changing reality to guide practice of diplomacy. His strategic thinking heavily influenced the international relations during the Cold War and is still playing an important role today, which is why I chose it as the core subject of this dissertation.A large number of scholars in the past regarded Kissinger as a spokesman of Realism in international relations and thus tended to interpret his strategic thinking from a purely realistic perspective. Such approach has more or less become a stereotype in the studies of Kissinger and his works. In the meantime, however, hardly anyone has provided sound academic proof to justify this stereotyped perception. As a theoretical paradigm, Realism is based on material ontology, from which a few Realistic presumptions are drawn including the two key ones on "the unitary state" and "the rational state." Setting "material ontology" and "the basic presumptions of Realism" as reference, this dissertation examines whether Kissinger’s strategic thinking is in accord with the basic features of Realism, and finds out that his thinking has transcended material ontology. This dissertation then compares Kissinger’s strategic thinking with Constructivism that is built on non-material ontology, and finds out that Kissinger’s thinking bears some features of Constructivism and reaches quite many conclusions similar to those based on Constructivism.In fact, Kissinger is more a practitioner than a scholar; his interest does not lie in creating a theory but in dealing with practical issues. Thus one risks negligence and even distortion by interpreting his strategic thinking with only one framework of IR theory. After a complete examination of Kissinger’s original works, this dissertation contends that his strategic thinking is based on selective dual-ontology. To be more specific, Kissinger attaches the same importance to both material factors and the willpower, yet he considers their relative importance as a function of the technological advancement at different stages of human development. At Kissinger’s time that featured nuclear weapons and modern technologies, the competition for material power lost its traditional significance; it was more important to reshape others’values and mentalities. It can be said that Kissinger’s strategic thinking is by and large based on such selective dual-ontology. This dissertation not only traces the development of Kissinger’s thinking from the time, life and career he has undergone, but it also tests the coherence level between the foreign policy he advocated and the selective dual-ontology that serves as the core of his thinking.Theoretical study is meant to serve the purpose of guiding practice. As the two most important powers in the world today, China and the U.S. are facing such dilemma during their co-development that, in human history, the rise of great powers has more often than not caused conflicts and war. Nevertheless, Kissinger’s strategic thinking points out a brighter path:The basic materialistic presumption for the human society has fundamentally transformed with the advent of nuclear weapons and modern telecommunications that the power of the will growingly dominates the trajectory of international relations. Contrary to the historical "tragedy of great powers" that happened largely due to competition of material power, the new-type great-power relationship between China and the U.S. makes it possible for the great will power of humankind to burgeon in a new physical world. This dissertation helps theorize such potential future by the study of Kissinger’s strategic thinking.