Is it better to engage in Real Politik (seen amongst other characteristics) as dealing with heads of states who torture and murder or keep to ideals?
Isn't Real Politik itself an ideal expressing concepts of order rather than justice?
Real politics or power politic has to be the last of the last resort when everything has failed and when it is absolutly imperative to prevent actions of another countries that would be disastrous. In all other circumstances it should be avoided. People like Kissinger are currently treated as heroes while they should be judged by international court as war criminal and crimes against humanity and jail and describes in our history books as the ennemies of humanity.
But I would say that most western governments have employed this, turning a blind eye to abusive politicians for the sake of the economy and peace.
I believe that a certain dose of Real Politik is proper to each politician and to each government.
The primary purpose of Real Politik is certainly not justice but I do not think it's just a matter of order but also of business, of relations of power between countries and of short and medium-term expediency.
Real politik has been always covered up for peace but when societies do that, they just imprison justice!