Pragmatic diplomacy (Themiclesia)

Pragmatic diplomacy or sometimes empirical diplomacy (經世外交, keng-st'jad-ngwad-kraw) identifies a body of empirical and emergent principles that characterize Themiclesian diplomacy starting from the 1200s. The most central concept is the inclusion of previous experience in formulating foreign policy; the implied exclusion is that of normal and moral idealism, which should be excluded from consideration, as PD adherents deem it teleologically or methodologically fictitious or hypothetical. According to PD, all diplomatic choices should be based on previous experience and then extrapolations based on them, and the options emerging should be evaluated according to an arithmetic assessment.

It should be noted that pragmatic diplomacy is not completely synonymous with utilitarian diplomacy, which is the uninhibited pursuit of national interest. PD does not require the path of most benefit be taken, but rather, the one that is 1) least worst and 2) grounded in history.