Hal Brands

My new book has a cover! The Eurasian Century: Hot Wars, Cold Wars, and the Making of the Modern World is about the great struggles that shaped the modern era, and how they help explain the challenges we face today. @AEI @KissingerCenter amazon.com/Eurasian-Centu…

@HoyasFan07 @opinion @AEI AEI usually puts up a version a day or two later...

@HalBrands @opinion @AEI any version without paywall ? 🤞🤞

It's hard to say whether the crisis with Iran is easing. But the broader, global implications of the war are already unfolding, and they are stunning in their impact and scope. A long weekend read for @opinion @AEI bloomberg.com/news/features/…

Welcome to the age of the missile war, where combat is faster, sanctuaries are harder to find, and escalation could prove more challenging to control. @opinion @AEI bloomberg.com/opinion/articl…

In the new Missile Age, war is faster, deadlier and harder to control, @halbrands writes bloomberg.com/opinion/articl…

Worth checking out this take from my editor @opinion @tobinharshaw

Trump is "trying to create a world where the sole superpower is at once mightier and less constrained", writes @HalBrands. His analysis of Trump's foreign policy is superb and should be the starting point for every debate about it. aei.org/op-eds/trump-i…

A hyper-globalized economy has met a hyper-competitive environment. Welcome to the chokehold era. Actors large and small are weaponizing control of nodes in crucial networks--and reshaping the world economy on which we all rely. @opinion @AEI bloomberg.com/opinion/articl…

In foreign policy, Trump’s second term has a revolutionary ethos: He is trying to create a world where the sole superpower is at once mightier and less constrained. AEI's @HalBrands on Trump's vision of American power. bloomberg.com/news/features/…

Ten years hence, the world will look very different. What we don’t yet know is what awaits on the far side of our interregnum—what form that new world will take, @HalBrands writes for FP’s Spring 2026 print issue. The current moment feels precarious because each of three scenarios is plausible—and each finds support in the foreign policy of a conflicted superpower. foreignpolicy.com/2026/03/23/pos…

The old order is dying. Here are three scenarios for what the post-Trump world might look like, circa 2035. Spoiler alert: The best of the bunch--a new Cold War--would have seemed terrible just a few years ago. @ForeignPolicy @AEI foreignpolicy.com/2026/03/23/pos…

One of the best summations on Trump's doctrine on geopolitics I've read. A must read

Time to retire the trope that Trump is an isolationist. Trump’s America is a superpower on steroids. A weekend long read on how he is unleashing US power—and depleting it at the same time. bloomberg.com/news/features/… @opinion @AEI

Freedom of the seas is one of the great achievements of the modern era. And now, from the South China Sea to the Strait of Hormuz, it is under assault. My latest for @opinion bloomberg.com/opinion/articl… @AEI

The US can't dismiss dangers of AGI. But US tech primacy will be the bedrock of stability in the age of AGI. A long essay on strategic stability and the push for AGI: geopoliticsagi.substack.com/p/49ce8735-abc…

Will smashing Iran strengthen America's global position? The answer is yes, no, and it depends. My latest weekend piece for @opinion bloomberg.com/opinion/articl… @aei

The current war is a coming-out party for a newly ambitious, full-blown US-Israeli warfighting alliance--an alliance that will shape the Middle East for years to come. @opinion @AEI bloomberg.com/opinion/articl…

The allure of striking Iran is that it could pace the path to a newer, more stable Middle East. The danger is that it could plunge the place into chaos. My latest for @opinion on the region's shifting landscape--and how a US strike might play out. bloomberg.com/opinion/articl… @AEI

This all makes for a cluttered landscape. But the more clearly we see it, the better we can sort our way through the mess. bloomberg.com/opinion/featur… @AEI

1) An updated Heartland-Rimland rift 2) Spheres of influence, old and new 3) Chokepoints and conflict zones 4) The new terrain of tech 5) The infrastructure imperative 6) The global geography of hedging 2/

Visualizing the global landscape is the first step to navigating its opportunities and challenges. In my long read for @opinion I lay out six key trends remaking the global map: They are: bloomberg.com/opinion/featur… 1/