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The Grand Chessboard: American Primacy And Its Geostrategic Imperatives

The Grand Chessboard: American Primacy And Its Geostrategic Imperatives
By Zbigniew Brzezinski

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Brzezinski was a co-founder of the Trilateral Commission with David Rockefeller.

Product Description

As the twentieth century draws to a close, the United States has emerged as the world’s only superpower: no other nation possesses comparable military and economic power or has interests that bestride the globe. Yet the critical question facing America remains unanswered: What should be the nation’s global strategy for maintaining its exceptional position in the world? Zbigniew Brzezinski tackles this question head-on in this incisive and pathbreaking book.The Grand Chessboard presents Brzezinski’s bold and provocative geostrategic vision for American preeminence in the twenty-first century. Central to his analysis is the exercise of power on the Eurasian landmass, which is home to the greatest part of the globe’s population, natural resources, and economic activity. Stretching from Portugal to the Bering Strait, from Lapland to Malaysia, Eurasia is the ”grand chessboard” on which America’s supremacy will be ratified and challenged in the years to come. The task facing the United States, he argues, is to manage the conflicts and relationships in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East so that no rival superpower arises to threaten our interests or our well-being.The heart of The Grand Chessboard is Brzezinski’s analysis of the four critical regions of Eurasia and of the stakes for America in each arena—Europe, Russia, Central Asia, and East Asia. The crucial fault lines may seem familiar, but the implosion of the Soviet Union has created new rivalries and new relationships, and Brzezinski maps out the strategic ramifications of the new geopolitical realities. He explains, for example: Why France and Germany will play pivotal geostrategic roles, whereas Britain and Japan will not. Why NATO expansion offers Russia the chance to undo the mistakes of the past, and why Russia cannot afford to toss this opportunity aside. Why the fate of Ukraine and Azerbaijan are so important to America. Why viewing China as a menace is likely to become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Why America is not only the first truly global superpower but also the last—and what the implications are for America’s legacy. Brzezinski’s surprising and original conclusions often turn conventional wisdom on its head as he lays the groundwork for a new and compelling vision of America’s vital interests. Once, again, Zbigniew Brzezinski provides our nation with a philosophical and practical guide for maintaining and managing our hard-won global power.

Product Details

  • Amazon Sales Rank: #10170 in Books
  • Published on: 1998-09-17
  • Number of items: 1
  • Binding: Paperback
  • 240 pages

Editorial Reviews

The New York Times Book Review, Bernard Gwertzman
Brzezinski has now stated and restated his concerns. His books are there for any political leader to use as material for future policy declarations. But it is difficult in the current situation to imagine much of a competition to take up Brzesinski's ideas, however well they are argued here.

The Los Angeles Times Sunday Book Review, Walter Russell Mead
At its best, The Grand Chessboard makes permanent contributions to the national debate over American foreign policy and power. At its worst, it demonstrates the need for contemporary statesmen and political thinkers to immerse themselves more deeply in the rich tradition of Anglo-American strategic thought that brought first Britain and now the United States to global preeminence at an astonishingly low cost.

From Kirkus Reviews
The former national security advisor is still a believer in geopolitics after all these years. Like most foreign-policy aficionados weaned on the Cold War, Brzezinski (Out of Control, 1993) has been forced by the disintegration of the Soviet Union to broaden his perspective--but not very far. He sees the US as the only global superpower, but inability to maintain its hegemony indefinitely means that ``geostrategic skill'' is essential. To what end is not specified beyond the vague shaping of ``a truly cooperative global community'' that is in ``the fundamental interests of humankind,'' but in this genre, goals are commonly assumed rather than examined. In any case, Brzezinski casts Eurasia as the playing field upon which the world's fate is determined and analyzes the possibilities in Europe, the former Soviet Union, the Balkans (interpreted broadly), and the Far East. Like a grandmaster in chess, he plots his strategy several moves in advance, envisioning a three-stage development. Geopolitical pluralism must first be promoted to defuse challenges to America, then compatible international partners must be developed to encourage cooperation under American leadership, and finally the actual sharing of international political responsibility can be considered. The twin poles of this strategy are a united Europe in the West and China in the East; the central regions are more problematic and, for Brzezinski, not as critical in constructing a stable balance of power. This updated version of East-West geopolitics is worth taking seriously but it is also an amazing example of how a perspective can be revised without actually being rethought. (Radio satellite tour) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Customer Reviews

Very informative5
Although somewhat dry, this is a great book that delineates the world's hotspots and America's role in it. It does a good job summarizing the modern history of these regions and the relationships which the US must engage in order to maintain it's global leadership.

THE ANTI-US CONSTITUTION3
Zbigniew Brzezinski's "The Grand Chessboard" is a geopolitical strategy for U S perpetual imperialism. Although he served as Jimmy Carter's National Security Advisor, Zbig knows nothing of a U S Constitution. He favors imperialism and all its vulgar mafia-driven tenets; racism, mass murder, and plunder. As explained in Don't Weep for Me, America: How Democracy in America Became the Prince (While We Slept) Zbig contributed to the Neo-Con movement to re-map the Middle East by writing in "The Grand Chessboard" in 1997, "...as America becomes an increasingly multicultural society, it may find it more difficult to fashion a consensus on foreign policy issues, EXCEPT IN THE CIRCUMSANCES, OF A TRULY MASSIVE AND WIDELY PERCEIVED DIRECT EXTERNAL THREAT". His signal was picked up by the Neo-cons and on September 11, 2001, New York was the chosen target of A TRULY MASSIVE AND WIDELY PERCEIVED DIRECT EXTERNAL THREAT. Funny how these things happen...

Advisor to Barack Obama3
As recently reported, the author of this book Brzezinski has wholeheartedly endorsed Barack Obama for President for 2008, and was one of the first well known foreign policy experts to do so. Brezezinski has been chosen by Obama as his key foreign policy advisor. Barack Obama has also been very forthright in his praise of Brzezinski as "someone I have learned an immense amount from", and "one of our most outstanding scholars and thinkers".

Brezeinski's daughter is a regular TV host on various MSNBC news talk shows.