Those who have personally known Kissinger have been quick to emphasize the other dimensions of his legacy. Perhaps his most ardent critic was Christopher Hitchens, who accused the former diplomat of committing war crimes and chronicled the human impact of American foreign policy on the lives of countless folks across the post-colonial world, from Chile to Cambodia and Laos. Just days before his 100th birthday, I saw many progressive colleagues expressing very strong views on Kissinger’s role in the twilight years of the Second Indo-China War. It goes without saying that Kissinger, who was at the heart of American foreign policy during the most turbulent post-war years, has his share of passionate critics.

In short, I never shied away from complex characters, especially those with political tenacity and intellectual heft. Not to mention, sharing a bizarrely spirited panel with former defense minister Juan Ponce Enrile, who repeatedly interrupted my analytic interventions until I was forced to draw the line. A few years earlier, I had an almost hour-long interview with the legendary Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who is also nearing his centenary. To be clear, he was not the first consequential yet controversial “elder statesman” that I had the chance to trade ideas with.

Therefore, I thought it best to pen a proper yet succinct column on the matter. As an academic-turned-diplomat in later life, he played a singularly pivotal role in shaping the balance of power among the main protagonists of the Cold War era - and, by extension, the lives of billions in the post-colonial world. Surviving the horrors of Nazi Germany, and later fighting against the fascist regime as an American soldier, Kissinger’s life has spanned some of the most harrowing episodes in human history. It soon became clear, however, that writing a few lines on social media platforms wasn’t optimal, precisely because of the heavily polarized discourse on the former statesman’s multifarious legacy.

So on the cusp of his 100th birthday, I initially thought of posting something online about his ideas and legacy which have left a huge imprint on our contemporary international order. Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to exchange views with one of the most consequential statesmen of the 20th century: Henry Kissinger.

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