In The Eurasian Century: Hot Wars, Cold Wars, and the Making of the Modern World, Hal Brands illuminates the historical patterns we must understand in order to better navigate the geopolitical rivalries of the present.
Hal Brands is the Henry A. Kissinger Distinguished Professor of Global Affairs at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). He is also a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and a columnist for Bloomberg Opinion. In his new book, he traces the arc from World War I to today’s rivalries between the United States and China, and between NATO and Russia.
In his conversation with Nikolaus Lang, global leader of the BCG Henderson Institute, he discusses why the 20th and 21st centuries are the Eurasian (rather than the American) Era, how today’s rivalries among great powers differ from those of the past, and what global business must pay attention to in navigating current geopolitical tensions.
Key topics discussed:
01:28 | The 20th and 21st centuries as the Eurasian era
05:32 | The “historic achievement” of the Cold War
08:34 | How today’s rivalries among great powers are different
13:14 | The future of Eurasia
15:59 | How global businesses can operate in a polarized geopolitical world
20:13 | Reasons to be optimistic vs. pessimistic about the future
Additional inspirations from Hal Brands: