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:

• Danger Zone: The Coming Conflict with China, co-authored by Michael Beckley (W. W. Norton & Company, 2022)
• The Lessons of Tragedy: Statecraft and World Order, co-authored by Charles Edel (Yale University Press, 2019)
• The Twilight Struggle: What the Cold War Teaches Us about Great-Power Rivalry Today (Yale University Press, 2019)
• What Good Is Grand Strategy?: Power and Purpose in American Statecraft from Harry S. Truman to George W. Bush (Cornell University Press, 2014)