Martin Jacques Quotes

Multilateralism may be little more than a polite way of camouflaging what is in practice unilateralism with allies.

Political and security realities have reduced the scope of American unilateralism.

Even allies don’t share every single interest that you have. That’s a law of nature in the international system. They will tell you most of what you need to know but there may be some things that they don’t tell you that you need to know in order to formulate your policy as wisely as you can.

People think that it only takes an American decision to solve this or that problem [in foreign affairs].

In a multipolar world, there must be more powers capable of taking responsibility, the U.S. and Europe must be able to unite to achieve peace in the Middle East.

Obama's foreign policy is strangely self-centered, focused on himself and the United States rather than on the conduct and needs of the nations the United States allies with, engages with, or must confront.

Unilateral preemption should not in any way be the model for how we conduct international relations.

The clever, albeit fragile, coalition against terrorism brought together by the U.S. government might be able to advance the transition from classical international law to a cosmopolitan order.

I met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel, visited our allies in the Arab Gulf, traveled to Tunisia and Iraq, met with President Petro Poroshenko in Ukraine, and visited our allies in Germany, France, and the United Kingdom.

China and the United States have major influence in international affairs and shoulder important responsibilities in upholding world peace and promoting common development.

It is one thing to be against unilateralism and against nonhumanitarian interventionism - but it is quite another thing to be against humanitarian interventionism.

As far as the international issues are concerned, the most important thing is the state of the transatlantic relationships, Euro-Atlantic relationships: how to develop them and how to strengthen them further.

I very much hope that the United States will finally... realise that they can no longer act as the prosecutor, the judge, and the executioner in every part of the world and that they need to cooperate to resolve issues.

The logic of collective security is flawless, provided it can be made to work under the conditions prevailing on the international scene... The odds, however, are strongly against such a possibility.

Every government is in some respects a problem for every other government.

I don’t talk to countries that exhibit bad behavior.

Foreign Policy has to be less foreign.

Never in all the long years of strife and struggle has a parliamentary conduct of international affairs been successful.

Unilateralism and isolationism are ideological twins.

The United States may have to abandon its policy of avoiding entangling alliances.

Today we will find most nations to be both our partners and our adversaries—sometimes simultaneously.

You don’t do foreign policy unilaterally. Foreign policy is a team sport.

The United States has better relations with the countries of Asia than any of them have with each other.

I don’t think that we should ever apply our military power unilaterally…. If we cannot persuade like-minded, friendly nations of the wisdom of our policy, then maybe we should rethink the policy.

The situation that exists among nations in their relations to one another is such that it tempts even those who ordinarily come far short of cynicism to say that there is no connection between ethics and international relations.