The language and conduct of international diplomacy is a constant tussle between rhetorical niceties and realism. Historically, rhetoric has outstripped reality. But not anymore.
The illusion of the ‘liberal internationalism’ of the United States, which sought to justify American aggression in pushing the agenda of supposed democracy (overtly, covertly, or even militarily), was one such farce. It was as insincere as the promise of equality and welfarism made by the Soviet bloc during the Cold War. Below the veneer of idealism and morality was the less-than-savoury reality.