realpolitik
noun
re·al·po·li·tik rā-ˈäl-ˌpō-li-ˌtēk 
often capitalized
: politics based on practical and material factors rather than on theoretical or ethical objectives
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web More than a realpolitik realignment, the Saudi drift closer to China’s orbit is also being driven by young Saudis who perceive greater opportunities with a China on the rise. 
Taylor Luck, The Christian Science Monitor, 14 July 2022 As former chair of the Federal Communications Commission under Obama and president and CEO of the National Cable Television Association, Wheeler has extensive experience in the realpolitik of government and media regulation. David Zurawik, CNN, 16 May 2022 Henry Kissinger, the ancient guru of realpolitik, has joined Macron in urging Ukrainian concessions. William Falk, The Week, 11 June 2022 These war supporters shared a particular kind of American hubris and naïveté, an eagerness to ignore the realpolitik behind our interventions in the oil-rich Middle East while intoning fine words about the spread of freedom and democracy. New York Times, 8 June 2022 But some of the fence-sitting is down to hard-nosed realpolitik. Monica Mark, The Christian Science Monitor, 6 Apr. 2022 For me, a sensible definition of realpolitik is to say there are objective circumstances without which foreign policy cannot be conducted. Jeffrey Fields, The Conversation, 4 Apr. 2022 But polls show that Orbán’s realpolitik and cautious approach to Ukraine are winning him voters who prize stability. John Fund, National Review, 29 Mar. 2022 The more sober historical analyses of India’s foreign policy invoke the realpolitik of India’s reliance on Soviet/Russian military hardware. Anjani Jain, Fortune, 23 Mar. 2022 See More
Taylor Luck, The Christian Science Monitor, 14 July 2022 As former chair of the Federal Communications Commission under Obama and president and CEO of the National Cable Television Association, Wheeler has extensive experience in the realpolitik of government and media regulation. David Zurawik, CNN, 16 May 2022 Henry Kissinger, the ancient guru of realpolitik, has joined Macron in urging Ukrainian concessions. William Falk, The Week, 11 June 2022 These war supporters shared a particular kind of American hubris and naïveté, an eagerness to ignore the realpolitik behind our interventions in the oil-rich Middle East while intoning fine words about the spread of freedom and democracy. New York Times, 8 June 2022 But some of the fence-sitting is down to hard-nosed realpolitik. Monica Mark, The Christian Science Monitor, 6 Apr. 2022 For me, a sensible definition of realpolitik is to say there are objective circumstances without which foreign policy cannot be conducted. Jeffrey Fields, The Conversation, 4 Apr. 2022 But polls show that Orbán’s realpolitik and cautious approach to Ukraine are winning him voters who prize stability. John Fund, National Review, 29 Mar. 2022 The more sober historical analyses of India’s foreign policy invoke the realpolitik of India’s reliance on Soviet/Russian military hardware. Anjani Jain, Fortune, 23 Mar. 2022 See More Word History
Etymology
German, from real actual + Politik politics
First Known Use
1895, in the meaning defined above