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…

You won’t get a better snapshot of where the world is going than the two recent summits in Beijing. Xi, Trump, and Putin are all breaking the old order—and making a turbulent new age. bloomberg.com/opinion/articl… @opinion @AEI

We're starting to learn more about the Ukraine nuclear crisis of fall 2022. Here's what it teaches us about great-power relations and the future of nuclear rivalry: bloomberg.com/opinion/articl… @opinion @AEI

Nuclear brinkmanship has become a defining feature of the wars of the 21st century, writes @HalBrands, and the worst is yet to come bloomberg.com/opinion/articl…

The Iran war is intensifying a full-blown crisis of the transatlantic alliance. But it's having more subtle, and sometimes more positive, effects for US alliances in Asia and the Middle East. @opinion @AEI bloomberg.com/opinion/articl…

The Iran war has allies in Europe drifting away from the US, but some in Asia and the Middle East are being forced closer to Washington, @halbrands writes bloomberg.com/opinion/articl…

I was very pleased today to catch up with historian @HalBrands of @SAISHopkins and @AEI.

The world is getting more dangerous. Confidence in America is declining. That’s allowing a cohort of defense export all stars to grab greater profits—and greater global influence. @opinion @AEI bloomberg.com/opinion/articl…

Lack of trust in the US has led to a bunch of allies, including Japan and South Korea, becoming the new all-stars in arms exports, @halbrands writes (via @opinion) bloomberg.com/opinion/articl…

@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