Robert Strausz-Hupé (March 25, 1903 – February 24, 2002) was an Austrian-born American diplomat and

geopolitical Geopolitics () is the study of the effects of Earth's geography on politics and international relations. Geopolitics usually refers to countries and relations between them, it may also focus on two other kinds of states: ''de facto'' independen ...

theorist.

Life and career

Born in 1903 in Austria, Strausz-Hupé immigrated to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in 1923. Serving as an advisor on foreign investment to American financial institutions, he watched the Depression spread political misery across

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. After the

Anschluss The (, or , ), also known as the (, ), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into Nazi Germany on 12 March 1938. The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a "German Question, Greater Germany") arose after t ...

of Austria in 1938, Strausz-Hupé began writing and lecturing to American audiences on "the coming war." After one such lecture in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, he was invited to give a talk at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

, an event which led to his taking a position on the faculty there in 1940. He became an associate professor in 1946. Strausz-Hupé founded the

Foreign Policy Research Institute The Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI) is an American think tank based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that conducts research on geopolitics, international relations, and international security in the various regions of the world and on eth ...

at the University of Pennsylvania in 1955, which later became independent in 1970. In 1957, the Institute published the first issue of '' Orbis'', the quarterly journal that remains to this day the institute's flagship publication. Strausz-Hupé authored or co-authored several important books on international affairs. Strausz-Hupé was a foreign policy advisor to

Barry Goldwater Barry Morris Goldwater (January 2, 1909 – May 29, 1998) was an American politician and major general in the United States Air Force, Air Force Reserve who served as a United States senator from 1953 to 1965 and 1969 to 1987, and was the Re ...

when Goldwater was the Republican Party's candidate for

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

in 1964, and also advised

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

in his successful 1968 campaign. As president, Nixon appointed Strausz-Hupé to be

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

in 1969, but the appointment was blocked by Arkansas Senator J. William Fulbright, head of the Foreign Relations Committee, on the grounds that Strausz-Hupé was too strongly against

communism Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...

. Despite this, the following year he was appointed U.S.

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

and the

Maldive Islands The Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives, and historically known as the Maldive Islands, is an archipelagic country in South Asia located in the Indian Ocean. The Maldives is southwest of Sri Lanka and India, about from the Asian c ...

, and subsequently served as ambassador to

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

(1972–1974),

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

(1974–1976),

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

(1976–77), and

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

(1981–1989)."History: Robert Strausz-Hupé"

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy of the United State ...

website In 1989, upon retirement after eight years as Ambassador to Turkey, Strausz-Hupé rejoined the Foreign Policy Research Institute as Distinguished Diplomat-in-Residence and president emeritus.

Personal life and death

On April 26, 1938, in New York City, he married Eleanor DeGraff Cuyler Walker (1898–1976), daughter of railroad director Thomas DeWitt Cuyler (1854–1922) and his wife, Frances Lewis Cuyler (1860–1941). She was a descendant of the Hasbrouck family and a second cousin, once removed of New York Governor

DeWitt Clinton DeWitt Clinton (March 2, 1769February 11, 1828) was an American politician and Naturalism (philosophy), naturalist. He served as a United States Senate, United States senator, as the mayor of New York City, and as the sixth governor of New York. ...

. She was the youngest of four daughters, and was divorced from Joseph Walker with three children of her own: Eleanor Cuyler Walker Seyffert (1917–1992), Joseph Walker IV (1920–2007) and Peter Cuyler Walker (1925–2000). They did not have any children together, and Eleanor died on March 8, 1976, while in Sweden. Strausz-Hupé married secondly Mayrose (nee Ferreira) Nugara (b. 1936) on August 22, 1979. She had three children of her own: Ingrid, Cynthia and Ricky. He died at home in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, on February 24, 2002, at the age of 98.Lewis, Paul (February 26, 2002
"Robert Strausz-Hupé, Envoy And Cold-War Stalwart, 98" (obituary)
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

Quotations

*"As policy evolves towards several continental systems, and technology accentuates the strategic importance of large, contiguous areas. Thus the era of overseas empires and free world trade closes. If this reasoning is pushed to its absolute conclusion, the national state is also a thing of the past, and the future belongs to the giant state. Many nations will be locked in a few vast compartments. But in each of these one people, controlling a strategic area, will be master of the others." – ''Geopolitics: The Struggle for Space and Power'' (1942)

Works

* ''Axis America: Hitler Plans Our Future'' (1941) * ''Geopolitics: The Struggle for Space and Power'' (1942) * ''The Balance of Tomorrow: Power and Foreign Policy in the United States'' (1945) * ''International Relations'' (1950) * ''The Zone of Indifference'' (1952) * ''The Estrangement of Western Man'' (1953) * ''A Forward Strategy for America'' (1955) * ''Power and Community'' (1956) * (co-editor) ''The Idea of Colonialism'' (1958) * (with others) ''Protracted Conflict: A Forward Strategy for America'' (1959) * (with others) ''Building the Atlantic World'' (1963) * ''In My Time: An Eclectic Autobiography'' (1965) * ''Strategy and Values: Selected Writings of Robert Strausz-Hupé (1973) * ''Democracy and American Foreign Policy: Reflections on the Legacy of Alexis de Tocqueville'' (1995)

References

Notes Further reading * Kaplan, Robert D. (2012) ''The Revenge of Geography: What the Maps Tell Us About the Coming Conflicts and the Battle Against Fate'' New York: Random House.

External links

The Political Graveyard
{{DEFAULTSORT:Strausz-Hupe, Robert 1903 births 2002 deaths Geopoliticians American people of Austrian descent Permanent representatives of the United States to NATO Ambassadors of the United States to Turkey Ambassadors of the United States to Sri Lanka Ambassadors of the United States to Belgium Ambassadors of the United States to Sweden Foreign Policy Research Institute Pennsylvania Republicans New Right (United States) American anti-communists 20th-century American diplomats 20th-century American political scientists American foreign policy writers American international relations scholars