Theodore Roosevelt and Wilhelm II: Personal Relationships

A student would hardly have to read Macchiavelli's The Prince in order to be convinced that national self-interest has been the prime consideration in the formulation of a nation's foreign policy. This all-important factor is seldom or never subordinated to other considerations. The personal relations or friendships that existed between leaders of different nations generally count for little when compared with national interests. This truism, however, may be modified by the belief that in international relations the reality of a personal friendship between heads of state may dispose a monarch or a president to see his country's self-interest served in cooperation with a friend, especially since no statesman can foretell with exactitude all the ramifications of his actions. Certainly the seemingly natural friendship between the United States and Great Britain, personified by Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Winston Churchill, has been a factor in international politics for a half century. This friendship has even survived the cogent criticism that London wields disproportionate influence on American foreign policy in an era which has witnessed the decline of the British Empire. Perhaps even the personal popularity King Edward VII enjoyed with the Parisians can be cited as a contributing factor to the Entente Cordiale of 1904 though it is true that other factors were much more important.

Grantor dc:publisher

Creighton University

Year dc:date.issued

1965

Author dc:creator

• Fleischman, Joseph P.

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Umscheid, Arthur G.

Statement dc:rights

• A non-exclusive distribution right is granted to Creighton University and to ProQuest following the publishing model selected above.

Language dc:language.iso

en_US

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/10504/109632

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:cdr.creighton.edu:10504/109632