What the Cold War Teaches Us About Great-Power Rivalry Today (Hal Brands)

In a lively discussion of numerous key topics of current geopolitical importance, Dr. Hal Brands (Henry A. Kissinger Distinguished Professor of Global Affairs - Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies) (Senior Fellow - American Enterprise Institute) brings his robust career and academic experience on international relations and U.S. military capabilities and engages our host answering direct questions concerning several of these topics in a discussion titled “What the Cold War Teaches Us About Great-Power Rivalry Today”. These include his recent piece outlining the potential U.S. and Eurasian conflict that involves models of democracy versus autocracy, the status of the recently begun Russia Ukraine War and Putin’s strategies and scenarios involving this (including the strategic importance of the Suwalki Corridor in this regard), how containment as a Cold War approach applies to today’s conflicts between the U.S. and Russia and the U.S. and China, and how realistic the U.S. can be in choosing which countries it aligns with when opposing the expansionary wants of Russia and China. Continuing to take questions, Dr. Brands gives us detailed answers grounded in historical research of how ideological geopolitical struggles and the practice of multilateralism can be applied to our current international situation.
Hosted by Brandon M. Chapman (Instructor and Department Chair of Anthropology and Sociology - Rowan College at Burlington County). Recorded on March 29, 2022.